


This Was Not the Plan

by mamabug



Series: Life After Ouran [2]
Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Arranged Marriage, But only if the research goes horribly horribly wrong, Conspiracies, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Intrigue, Kissing, Love and biochemistry, Marriage of Convenience, Possible Zombie Apocalypse, Post-Canon, Rivals, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, and a HEA of course
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-05-24 15:11:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 134,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6157705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamabug/pseuds/mamabug
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyoya had a PLAN.  For fourteen years he followed it meticulously, step by step drawing closer towards his goal.  Then, one chance meeting provides him with an opportunity he just can't resist.  The only drawback, how is he supposed to deal with the woman that comes with it?  Set about ten years post-manga.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Lying Twit

**Author's Note:**

> This story started in my head as a result of two things. First was the glimpse into Kyoya's future in Volume 18, I wanted to find a relationship that would align with his ambition, yet still surprise him with love. Second there was something really, really mean I wanted to do to him and I had to work out a believable way of doing it. Well, I'm sure he'd hate it, but I hope when I finally get there those who stick with me will like it. This story is going to be a bit of a slow burn, Kyoya is a tough nut to crack (but I'm told he has a gooey center so the effort should be worth it). 
> 
> This story is, hopefully, consistent with the Manga and set about ten years after the non-omake ending. Kyoya is now 28 and working for his family, my OC is 22, and that should be all you need to know to start.
> 
> Minor warning: The tag says 'marriage' so you can assume at some point they'll probably have sex. I'm unlikely to describe it much past kissing and cuddling though. Strictly PG-13 material, but turn back now if it isn't your thing.
> 
> Disclaimer: Do we even really need these? I presume if your here you know the drill. Anyway, I own nothing except the contents of my own head.
> 
> Also posted on ff.net

Thirty minutes into the Omiai Risa had reached one inescapable conclusion - Ootori Kyoya was very, very good at lying.

Alright, she had to admit that might not be entirely fair – after all, she hadn't fully tested the hypothesis. There was always a chance that he really was the shallow, slightly obsequious, politely smiling twit that had spent the last thirty minutes charming the heck out of Ojii-sama.

She would prefer it if he were a liar.

She _needed_ him to be a liar.

As Ojii-sama and the two Ootori men chatted, drinking the tea she had perfectly prepared, she studied the younger man under lowered lashes; searching for any sign that he was also wearing a social mask. If he was, he wore it well; she couldn't find any obvious fissures or cracks. The only thing that gave her hope was his eyes. No matter how much he smiled, it never reached his eyes; their expression remained perfectly neutral.

Risa suppressed a sign and renewed her focus on playing her role as demure and dutiful heir to Sakura Pharmaceuticals. Most of the time she found it easy to maintain the façade, it was even preferable to letting certain types of people get too close. Today, though, she had to fight hard to keep it in place; her thoughts were too chaotic, too agitated to allow for the calm it normally gave her.

_'Does he have what I require?'_

_'If he does, can I tempt him to my cause?'_

_'If not, can I stop this match before it spirals out of my control?'_

Chairman Ootori had been a close friend of Risa's father and Ojii-sama seemed to regard the joining of their families as destiny. That last word should really be in all capitals, italicized, and accompanied by several exclamation points. If the Ootoris ended up being interested, it would take all her power to convince Ojii-sama to decline. But then again, if he did meet her criteria…. Enough! She was driving herself crazy with pointless speculation; she needed to find a way to properly gather and evaluate the data.

Finally, Ojii-sama gave her the opportunity she was looking for. "Ootori-san, the gardens at this tea house are quite beautiful. Have you had a chance to view them?" It was the signal that the elder two men found the match unobjectionable and it was alright if the potential bride and groom had a chance to get to know each other better. She guessed she must have passed whatever test the Chairman had for a daughter-in-law. Well, 'dutiful heir' really was a good persona if she did say so herself.

"I've not yet had the opportunity, Chairman. Perhaps Tsuchiba-san would like to accompany me? I'm sure she would make an expert guide." Ootori-san replied coolly, giving her a polite smile. She was starting to hate that stupid smile. It made her feel like her family was trying to marry her off to a politician. A poll-reading sycophant would be useless to her; the only politician she was interested in was Machiavelli.

"I'd be delighted, Ootori-san." Risa replied sweetly as she gracefully rose up from her kneel and allowed him to escort her from the room. Not for the first time she lamented that these things called for a traditional kimono. Sometimes she sincerely missed her wardrobe from university; she wondered how this prim and proper man beside her would react if he saw her in her favorite well-worn jeans and her "Biochemistry – because [BArium]d[ArSenic][Sulfur] isn't an official major" t-shirt.

She glanced over at her partner; the formality appeared to come naturally to him. His light gray suit looked as crisp and fresh as if it had just come off the hanger and was tailored perfectly to his long, lean frame. He looked like he could have stepped out of an advertisement for custom Italian clothing; he was even wearing silver and blue cufflinks that matched his tie. Cufflinks! Who wore cufflinks in this day and age? On him, though, they seemed to fit.

Her lips twitched as she tried not to laugh at herself, she always had been a sucker for a well-dressed man. It didn't hurt, either, that he was almost impossibly good looking. Black hair, gray eyes, classically aristocratic features – she would describe him as a textbook perfect example of the Japanese phenotype. Her friend Amy would have just declared him 'a long tall glass of water on a hot summer day.' Standing side by side only reemphasized his height, she never felt quite as short in Japan as she had in the States, but his extra thirty centimeters made her feel tiny.

As they headed out, he continued his polite discourse. "Tsuchiba-san, I believe we both attended university in the Boston area, did you enjoy your time there?"

"Yes, very much so" she replied absent-mindedly. Another thirty minutes of small talk like this would kill her.

The gardens were beautiful, especially right now at the transition between spring and summer and the air was heavy with the scent of the blooming flowers. Out of view and earshot of the tea house, they crossed a pretty wooden bridge over a perfectly landscaped pond. She stopped in the middle and moved to the rail, gazing at the Koi swimming below. He came to stand next to her and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Hmmm… his eyes were still neutral, but he'd dropped the smile and now appeared almost as bored as she was with this game. Maybe his mask could slip if he thought no one was looking; she took it as an encouraging sign - it was time to make her move.


	2. The Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyoya's POV as we discover his objective.

From before the start of the Omiai Kyoya had reached one inescapable conclusion, the Tsuchiba family was hiding something.

True, that might not be correct – he had yet to confirm his suspicions. There was always the possibility that this was nothing more than an attempt to reverse the failing fortunes of their struggling company through marriage into a more powerful family.

But he was certain they were hiding something.

And he suspected that what they were hiding was…. _interesting._

He studied the girl as he engaged in the typical introductory conversation with her grandfather. With her expensive silk kimono that matched the seasons and black hair arranged in a complimentary style she appeared to be the perfect representation of traditional Japanese womanhood. She prepared the tea and saw to the comfort of their party with a grace and poise that spoke of extensive training and his father's questions were met with a soft voice and demure manner that indicated someone of a reserved and humble nature.

In other words, there was absolutely nothing to distinguish her from any of the other insipid daughters of high-class Japanese families that had been paraded in front of him for the last four years.

He could feel a tension radiating from her, though, carefully hidden beneath her cultivated demeanor. Well, carefully hidden to anyone who wasn't as attentive as him. Few modern women were happy to settle into marriage at their family's command; it was a fact he'd used to his advantage in previous negotiations. He had absolutely no intention of marrying her; his father had made it clear that this meeting was merely a courtesy to an old family friend. However, he had no qualms about using her reluctance to secure a deal that would benefit his family.

But first he had to uncover her secret.

The opportunity came when he was given the signal to escort her into the gardens. He exchanged the briefest of nods with his father, his orders were clear; he would focus on gaining the trust of the daughter while his father did the same with the chairman. He led her to a bridge over a pond and was planning his next move when she suddenly made the opening feint.

"Do you ever get tired of it, Ootori-san?" The slim girl turned towards him, head cocked to one side, slightly-rounded onyx eyes searching him for answers. "All the lying, I mean. Don't you find it draining?" Her face and tone were gentle despite the deep impoliteness of her question and he could hear the underlying challenge in her voice.

Kyoya blinked and then quickly moved to cover his surprise; he'd been prepared to patiently lure her with charm and soothing words, but she had unexpectedly turned it into a chase. His pulse accelerated with the thrill of the hunt now that his quarry had darted out into the open. His lips instinctively formed a predatory grin which he quickly turned into another polite smile; an inpatient opponent was so much easier to lead in the direction he wanted them to go.

"Sometimes," he replied lightly, "but not as much as you do, I expect." Obviously he was not the only one here with an objective. He would play along, discover what she was after then use it to his gain.

"Probably," she laughed, "but then I'm a scientist not a businessman. It's not a skill I need to use that often. Except when I'm trying to get funding," she added wryly.

"I suppose a lab assistant wouldn't have much call for it," he conceded. He put just the slightest of emphasis on her title, hoping it would draw her out.

Her smile faded and he saw faint disapproval in her eyes. "Ootori-san, I'd heard your family had one of the best intelligence gathering networks in the country. Surely you don't really think I'm just a lab assistant," she stated flatly.

There. She had followed the trail he'd laid and betrayed the lever he would use to make her reveal all. As could be expected of a scientist, she responded more to honesty than coyness. He would have to play a subtle game, reveal just enough to get her to return in kind, yet avoid tipping his hand until he was ready.

Dropping his 'host' smile and leveling her with a direct gaze he replied, "I don't for one minute believe you are only a lab assistant, though your family did go through a great deal of effort to make it appear that way."

She rewarded his bluntness with an unguarded smile. "Oh, good – that will make this so much easier" she said happily. "Why don't you tell me what you know and I can fill in what you need to."

They both knew this was a test. Kyoya felt faintly amused at her naïve attempt to manipulate him; people who tried rarely got the results they desired.

He wanted privacy for what would come next, if all went as he intended she would be revealing things casual listeners should not overhear. Over the bridge and off the pond there was a bench half-hidden under a willow tree that would seclude them and their conversation from passerby. He gestured her to accompany him over there before continuing the discussion. When she sat down he chose to remain standing in front of her, it was a petty psychological trick to assert dominance but it was surprising how often it worked.

"I don't believe," he began, "that someone with your qualifications would be working as an entry-level employee, even for their family. An attempt to hide your work from competitors, I assume?" He quirked an eyebrow in a silent request for confirmation.

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, it was my Uncle's idea. Kind of silly, really, anyone who can do a halfway decent background check was bound to figure it out."

She was a horrible negotiator, instead of guarding her position she easily ceded ground that he didn't ask for. It was no wonder her family was offering the position of company president as enticement for the marriage, she'd be no match against even the most minor of players that would be coming after her. She might be brilliant in the lab but right now they were in the shadowy realm of secrets and lie, plans and deals; in this world it was he who was the undisputed king.

Her Uncle's ruse was almost laughable; a simple search had turned up everything. Tsuchiba Risa, college undergraduate at fourteen, PhD in biochemistry at twenty, name on multiple papers and a dissertation hailed as ground-breaking. He strongly suspected the attempt at deception had owed more to jealousy on the part of her buffoon of an uncle than an honest attempt to mislead; all the real players in this game would have been tracking her career since she was seventeen.

"Viral gene therapy," he continued, "an interesting field to choose as your focus. " It was the next stage in medicine, altering viruses to cure disease by fixing the genes of damaged cells. Many had speculated on it, but nobody had achieved it. "Typically a small company such as yours would not be able to fund something that is only theoretical."

Kyoya watched her face carefully for her response to his subtle accusation. Her eyes were lowered, avoiding his gaze, and her breathing was shallow. His suspicions had been correct; he could no longer keep the predatory gleam from his eyes as he circled in for the kill.

"Two questions, Tsuchiba-san." He paused, waiting until she raised her anxious eyes to his. "First, did I pass your little test? And second," on this he leaned over nearly double until his face was mere centimeters away from hers. He focused the full force of his attention on her, a conspiratorial smile tugging at the corner of his lips and his voice barely above a whisper he asked, "Just exactly how close are you?"


	3. The Offer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which neither party gets what they want

His eyes glittered with anticipation as he leaned down and almost whispered, "Just exactly how close are you?"

Risa's breath hitched as his gaze pinned her to her seat, 'How did he know?' It had to be a guess, but still – to put it together so quickly! She'd deliberately given them less than forty-eight hours, mostly over a weekend, to prevent the background checks from going too deep. She wanted to shout in exaltation, her hypothesis was correct – Ootori was definitely more than he appeared. 'Maybe this can work after all!'

Kyoya watched as the emotions passed across her face; first a slight shock, which only confirmed his suspicions, then a slow smile that was almost seductive in its self-satisfaction. 'What an… _unusual_ response.'

With a slight drop of her eyes and tilt of her chin she invited him to sit next to her. He complied; putting himself close to her level would only encourage her to confide in him further. She was gazing off in the distance and biting her lip, uncertain about taking the next step in the dance. It didn't matter how much she'd initially choose to reveal, he was patient. In the end he'd have it all. She gave a shaky sigh, squared her shoulders and turned to face him. "I'm closer than anyone else. I've done it - a repeatable method that's low cost with a quick development time." Her voice rang with confidence.

He turned his surprise into a discrete cough; was she really admitting so much on so little prompting? Had nobody ever taught this woman a thing about discretion and prudence when negotiating with the enemy? Well, it was to his advantage, but it did take a little fun out of the game.

"There's a company from Denmark that will be starting human trials this fall," he challenged.

"They have a fundamental flaw in their methodology, the treatment they have will work but the platform won't work for anything else. It will be first to market, but it's a one shot deal," she dismissed their efforts with a wave of her hand.

"The researchers out in Los Angeles? They've just secured a patent."

"They're closer to the right approach, but they're years away from even animal testing." Kyoya's interest was piqued at that, was she implying that she was even closer?

Risa was impressed; he had done his homework not just on her but on the potential competition. Now was the tricky bit; everything she'd told him so far was safe - it wasn't common knowledge but nothing someone couldn't guess. This was a secret only a small group outside her immediate family knew. _'Well, "can't get lard without butchering the hog" as Ryan says.'_ She leaned forward, taking him into her confidence and said softly, "If all goes on schedule, my pre-clinical trials will be done by next year."

Kyoya could barely believe it; he hadn't expected her to quite that far along. With the right management, the first treatments based on her research could be on the market within a decade and could go international within the decade after that. It was years ahead of anyone else, enough of a head start that whichever company possessed the technology would rule the market for decades. If he could secure it for the Ootori group it would be a coup that just might catapult him to the lead in the never-ending race with his older brothers.

By now, Tsuchiba had dropped all pretense of dignified reserve. Her eyes were alive with an inner fire and she reached out and put her hand on his arm, drawing him in to her excitement. "Think of it, Ootori-san, curing disease by fixing DNA! The applications are endless – my first target is cystic fibrosis but after that it will be child's play to modify it for others. Parkinson's, ALS, HIV, cancer – anything is possible. The first company that can deliver this will revolutionize medicine; and it will be my research that will make it happen."

What had happened to the lifeless debutante he'd spent the last forty-five minutes with? There was no trace of her in the woman before him now. She'd transformed into an enchantress; a siren beckoning men to jump off the safety of their ships and into the depths below. Kyoya shook off the fleeting sense of temptation and refocused himself on the task at hand – securing the best deal possible for his family.

His father had never cared whether any of the matches proposed for him had taken place, there was always some objective in it and Ootori Yoshio satisfied once it was delivered. Kyoya had become a master at using his partners' reluctance to wed to finalize a deal that would keep him from the altar. He didn't harbor any adolescent dreams of marrying for love, he was simply determined that any marriage would be to his benefit and not just his family's. He had every confidence that he could do it again with her.

He pushed his glasses up, subtly shifting the tone of the conversation to business. "Tsuchiba-san, if you are as close as you say, we can come to a mutually beneficial deal that would not require you to sacrifice yourself in an arranged marriage," he offered.

Instantly her face became neutral, once again guarded now that the serious negotiations had commenced. "Oh. And what did you have in mind?"

"A partly-owned subsidiary relationship. The Ootori Group would purchase the majority share in your company, but your family could continue to run it. You would receive the money and backing you need for your research and our full support in bringing it to both domestic and international markets." Depending on how desperate she was for a way out, she might be willing to take the offer. It was fair, but far more beneficial to him.

"Ah. You were never interested in the Omiai at all, were you?" She asked sadly, eyes focused on the hands in her lap.

He moved to soften any sense of personal rejection she might feel. "I simply don't see the benefit in a marriage for the sake of our families if we can each achieve our objectives without it," he replied as kindly as he could.

"I see." She raised her eyes; the look she gave was hard, direct, and at odds with the soft regret in her tone. "Ootori-san, I don't wish to offend, but if I were interested in handing over my company, my work, and myself to people I have no connection with then your family might not even be able to compete. If I give one hint that my skills might be on the market I'll have five multi-nationals and two governments on my doorstep by morning with similar offers."

She was absolutely right, except by his calculations it would be seven multi-nationals and three governments, but he'd judged her too inexperienced to realize that. Something wasn't adding up. He'd done his research, even managed to obtain a confidential financial report – Sakura Pharmaceuticals was a once-strong company that had been mismanaged in the last three years to the point of near-bankruptcy. The family could have leveraged her research to get a buy-out, but instead were angling for marriage. He'd assumed they hadn't considered the options and were trying to gain money from another family by holding out the Presidency as a lure. But, if she was aware of her worth and wasn't even considering the Ootori Group a strong enough partner, what was the purpose of this exercise?

His self-anger at a possible miscalculation echoed in his tone. "In that case, why have the Omiai at all? How does marriage into the Ootori family benefit you?"

She smiled at him as one would a child who made an unintentional gaffe. "Please forgive me, but I believe you have misunderstood the situation," she said gently, softening her admonishment, "I don't want the Ootori _family_. What I need is Ootori _Kyoya_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize to any actual biochemists who may be reading this for getting the science wrong. Hey, if you can't do soft-sci-fi in a fanfiction based on a teen-romance manga where else can you?


	4. The Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the title says, a deal is made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will take a bit more effort to transfer in. Please let me know if you like it so far! The first four chapter are all part of the same mini-arc and moving forward I'll get into developing a relationship between them.

_"What I need is Ootori Kyoya."_

A brief wave of disorientation washed over him as Kyoya felt the board shift beneath him and he mentally cursed himself for playing the fool. He'd miscalculated; all the time he had been playing Shoji, his partner had been playing Go. He'd been blinded by his own assumptions – the routine nature of the Omiai, her 'perfect Japanese daughter' mask, even the initial marriage offer had all conspired to lead him to form conclusions that she had just invalidated.

What data had he missed? What thread had he failed to follow-up on? Marriage, between families like theirs, was simply a form of advanced contract negotiations. Between families of equal strength, the end goal was an alliance; a permanent type of corporate merger. When an imbalance of power existed, then the weaker party was _always_ seeking a simple exchange – trade whatever asset you had for money and connections. The Tsuchiba's were offering future control of their company; but his father _had_ glossed over what they were asking for in exchange. In hindsight that should have made him wary. _'Damn the old man and his endless games!'_

There might still be a chance to recover, to get her to accept the offer of a buy-out, but first he had to understand the rules of this new game. If she wasn't after Ootori power and money, then what was her real objective? He remained quiet; sometimes the best tactic was to let the other person's impatience drive things forward. The one thing he was still certain of is that she needed him for something and that would lead her to say more than she probably should.

Risa looked to see his response to her statement; his eyes were back to being carefully neutral, this time without the accompanying smile. _'Great, we're back to square one. For awhile I thought there might be an actual person in there - is this just his default setting, or did I insult him by pointing out he'd misunderstood the situation? I really hope he's not the type to shut down once his pride's been wounded. How the heck did I ever think this was going to work?'_

She should probably end this, he had already said that he hadn't even considered the offer, but by now she was certain he was the one who'd give her the greatest chance of success. She had to at least try; even if it meant dropping all pretenses.

"My grandfather is dying, Ootori-san. " It was her greatest secret, the one that left her the most vulnerable. "Nobody knows except him and I. And now you. He wants to see me settled and thinks marrying into a more powerful family will give me, well, protection for when the vultures start circling. I agreed to it for my own reasons. I'm not willing just yet to give up on my family legacy; not ready to settle for working on someone else's behalf - but I know I can't do it alone. I want…no, I need a partner, someone with the skills and talents to run a company while I run the R&D."

"As a subsidiary you could have all of that. We would provide the leadership and skills you say you need, giving you freedom and protection to pursue your research."

"But for how long? We both know that working for someone else I'd eventually lose control of my work and the independence to pursue it the way I deem best. Not many people get a chance to do something that will change the world, why would I want to become a mere spectator to that?"

"Have you considered seeking investors instead? You would get funding but still retain control."

"Of course I've thought of it, but I'd have the same basic problem – no one I can trust to manage the operations. My uncle has nearly destroyed everything my father worked to build, my cousin is an idiot, and it's not a job I could simply hire someone to fill. Eventually the investors would own everything. I've read my history – inventors without business skills end up unknown and at the mercy of others. I know I'm not Edison, but I refuse to be Tesla."

"Why me?" he asked bluntly. It was the question that had been bothering him this whole time. All his life people had treated him as simply an extension of the Ootori family, they perceived any skill or merit he had as a mere virtue of that fact. Only a handful of people valued him for anything else.

"When Ojii-sama suggested your family I did some investigation. You have the right background and experience, but it was more than just that. I have friends in medical research who were able to introduce me to some of those you'd worked with. They were all a bit in awe of you – slightly terrified, but also amazingly loyal and complimentary. They convinced me that you have all the qualities I'm looking for in a partner - shrewd, inventive, reliable, and…well...slightly ruthless. " The last bit came out almost as an apology.

Kyoya was faintly amused at her naive reasoning. He could almost pity her, for all her intelligence she was a babe in the woods bound to be devoured by wolves. Her attempt to honor her family legacy and preserve her autonomy would be almost admirable if they didn't also stand in the way of his goals. Maybe it was a good thing she'd run into him first, he could do her a favor by scaring her off her present course; preferably right into the arms of the Ootori Group.

"Your sources are wrong," he said flatly, then waited until she'd turned her attention fully on him. He dropped his masks just enough for the darker parts of himself to show through, leaned in and said in a hard voice, "I'm _absolutely_ ruthless when it comes to getting what I want." He almost regretted the brief flash of fear in her eyes, but he pressed on, "You wouldn't be able to handle me, and I'm the least of the bad things out there waiting for you once word gets out of your progress. You're not experienced enough to play in these waters, little girl." He dropped the shields back in place, still hard and unyielding but less dangerous. "Listen to your grandfather, you should accept my offer – we can protect you and I promise I don't make a habit of exploiting those of value."

His words hung in the air for awhile, the tension between them palpable as she wrestled between her desires and the fear his words had conjured. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. When she opened them again, the fear had vanished.

"I know it's not going to be easy – the company has to be turned around quickly and the minute we announce anything we'll have every big pharma company out there trying to get a piece of us or take us over. That's even assuming it all works as I think it will." She looked away from him off in the direction of the garden but staring at something only she could see. "Sometimes I'm not even sure it's possible… but I think…I really believe that this is a chance to build something extraordinary."

"What will you do when I say no?" he asked softly.

Eyes snapped back to his. "Go on to the next candidate, I guess. I know the safest thing to do would be to take you up on it, or throw myself up for auction – but….." Her voice lowered, becoming both intense and passionate. "But, haven't you ever wanted to see what you could do, what you'd really be capable of if given the chance? This is my shot. I don't want to listen to what everyone tells me and stay safe on the ground. I want…I want to climb to the top of the Tokyo Tower and jump off just to prove to everybody that I really can fly. Things like this come around maybe once a generation, I simply can't give up without a fight."

_In his mind, a memory flashed. Violet eyes gazed at him and bore clear into the hidden recesses of his soul. "Who actually forbids you? You are the one who's giving up without a fight!"_

Why was he remembering that now? Did he just see an echo of the past in her words or was it a reminder – an admonishment to stop limiting himself by the expectation of others and open his eyes to potential alternatives. Hadn't he also always known that with enough room he could spread his wings and soar – higher than his brothers, higher even than his father? Instead of waiting for them to reluctantly give him that chance, would it be better to reach out and take it?

Risa sighed; Ootori was quiet, now it was his turn for staring off into the distance. _'Idiot! You don't convince someone by telling them how hard it will be. And what was with the stupid metaphor, now you've only confirmed how inexperienced you are. This is exactly why I don't like getting out of the lab.'_ In the end, she hadn't been able to say what she really needed to and had lost her chance. Maybe if she'd had time to convince him her research would work or if she could somehow have found the right words to convey just why she thought this a risk worth taking...oh well, _'Avós' da kak-nibúd' do dobrá ne dovedút'_ [Maybe and somehow won't make any good].

It was a shame; she had really thought him the best candidate of the bunch. Now there was the problem of what the man knew – he was too astute and ruthless not to use it. Maybe she could convince him not to share the secrets she'd revealed just yet; hopefully it wouldn't cost her too big a chunk of her company. "I made a complete mess of the pitch, didn't I? This is why they don't let me handle the business end of…."

"I have conditions."

"What?" His declaration startled her. Was he really saying what she thought he was?

The eyes he turned on her were assessing and calculating with hints of ice. "You are asking me to leave the Ootori Group for a company with a shaky future and only the promise of future gain. I have conditions for accepting. Non-negotiable." His tone brooked no disagreement.

"Of…Of course." She'd give him almost anything he asked for.

"First, I require your full support for any actions I take to turn the company around. I won't have employees confused or trying to exploit a potential power struggle."

"Yes, that's reasonable. I may still argue things in private if I disagree though. I can be a bit opinionated."

He nodded his acceptance. "There will also be no deciding at a later point that you'd prefer someone else for the job. This will be a binding partnership – I won't agree to any divorce or separation nor tolerate a public affair. I won't have my or my family's name involved in scandal."

Risa didn't think an affair would be a problem for her; she'd never had much interest in multi-cellular life forms. "Ah… yes, of course. I hadn't even considered…"

He cut off her nervous stammer. "Finally I'm not content with only building up your family's legacy; it needs to be mine as well. I would like to change the company name."

It would be painful to give on this point, but he was making his own sacrifices so it would only be fair. "Sakura was my grandmother's name; she was a woman ahead of her time and was responsible for our first patents. It's important to Ojii-sama, and to me too, but we can change it. Umm…maybe, though, we could wait until…."

His expression and tone softened as he grasped her implication. "Ah, then perhaps we can table that until a later date. Find a mutually agreeable option."

Risa sighed with relief that this would not be a sticking point and was grateful that he'd be open to a name which reflected both their families. "I appreciate that, thank you."

"Do you have any conditions? It's best to set expectations up front."

She hadn't thought of it, but there were a couple things that were important to her. "Well…I want the treatments we create to be available as widely as possible, not just for the wealthy and influential."

He gave a curt nod. "That would be in the best interests of the company. I'll make sure to set a fair price point and create a foundation to assist those who still can't afford them. It will help generate good publicity and fundraising provides the opportunity to make many useful connections."

_'Wow, just brimming with altruism there aren't you? Well, at least it gets me what I want.'_ There was one more thing; hopefully it wouldn't be a deal breaker. "Also, I want final say over any reuse or sub-licensing of my work."

Kyoya paused, that condition could unnecessarily tie his hands. "Which is of concern, specific applications or the general use to which it's put?"

"General use. I won't object to new applications within the same paradigm. New technologies can often result in unintended uses or consequences. I simply don't want to end up with regrets."

"I believe I can agree to that." He looked to see if she had any more to add. When she remained quiet, he stood. "Well, if that is all then it is probably about time for us to return."

With that, Risa felt all the anxiety and stress she'd had since first embarking on this path slip away. Somehow, and she had no idea how, she had done it. She stood up and faced him, unable to contain a wide smile of pleasure at her success. "So, would that mean we have a deal Ootori-san?" she asked confidently, holding out her hand. Unconsciously she'd slipped back into habits ingrained through six years in America.

Kyoya reached out and took her hand, and quirked an eyebrow at her in response. "I suppose there is one thing we should confirm," he murmured and gave an abrupt tug which pulled her off balance and caused her to fall against his chest. She looked up at him in confusion as he brought his lips down on hers.

Risa froze as their lips touched, but he would not let her remain uninvolved. He nibbled and teased, softly but insistently demanding for her to yield. The kiss was relentless, taking everything from her - her mind fogged and all reason vanishes in a haze; her will became subsumed by the pleasure of the moment; even her body betrayed her, swaying and relaxing against his chest as he consumed all that she could give. She'd been kissed before, but never like this and she couldn't summon the ability to resist. A low moan of surrender sounded from the back of her throat and just as suddenly as it started, the kiss ended.

He pulled his head back and gazed down at her with a smirk and eyes sparkling with sardonic amusement. "Yes, I do believe we will suit," he drawled. "We have a deal." He leaned down once more and whispered against her ear "And you should probably start calling me Kyoya."

Her heart thumped loudly as she suddenly realized that she might just have gotten exactly what she'd wished for. _'What the hell have I gotten myself into?'_


	5. The Things They Should Have Talked About

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple people have left comments on this story at another site reminding me to update it over here and I've decided to accommodate them. When I first started posting here, I had trouble uploading chapters with the formatting I liked but it's become a lot easier since then. I'll try to post over a few chapters a week until everything is caught up.
> 
> Forewarning - this chapter I was still figuring out how I wanted to write the story so it's a bit different than the ones before and after. The italics are thoughts and the 'centered' paragraphs are flashbacks.

Risa finished up her peer review and sent her comments back to her colleague in Berlin.  _'Sorry, Friedrich, but du bist auf dem Holzweg sein on this one.'_ B.B. King was singing through the Bluetooth speaker that he'd woken up this morning only to find his baby gone. He was being remarkably cheerful about it. She stretched, looked at her watch and sighed; playtime was over, she needed to start getting ready. Kyoya was picking her up at three for dinner with friends of his; he'd wanted to break the news of their engagement to them in person before the  _yuinou_  invitations started arriving.  _'Of course, I'd probably want to do that too if any of my friends lived in Japan.'_

She tried to picture him at a typical gathering for her crowd; it would certainly be more low-key than dinner with an old classmate from Ouran.  _'June has nice weather; if there wasn't a thunderstorm we'd have a backyard BBQ.'_ Turning off her laptop, she locked it in the desk drawer and headed out of her office into the main lab.  _'I would wear jean shorts and my 'Dixon Motorcycle Club' t-shirt instead of Dolce & Gabbana. He'd need to dress down though; does he even own jeans and a t-shirt?' A_ door in the middle of a wall lined with cabinets led her into the break area.  _'If I wanted to make them laugh I'd do my hair in pig-tails and put on cowboy boots and a Stetson.'_

She hung her lab coat next to the garment bag in her locker and pulled out the large toiletry bag she kept for when she headed somewhere straight from the lab. The break area was her brainchild, fully equipped for people who might live at work when the inclination took them. In addition to the kitchen/locker/break area there was a shower and small room with bunk beds.

Nobody else besides her was ever in on a Sunday afternoon so she left the shower room door open for the steam to escape. She slipped off her black joggers and t-shirt declaring her property of the Dyad Institute, pulled her hair out of its single braid, and put the temperature up to as hot as she could bear.  _'Ouran. Why did it have to be fracking Ouran?'_ She cranked the hot water up further as involuntary chills racked her bones.

_-Little hafu slut. Do you spread your legs for anyone just like your whore mother?—_

She stepped out of the shower to dry off and begin the process of transforming herself into the picture of demure Japanese womanhood.  _'These people must be important to him; I need to make sure I meet their expectations.'_ She dried her hair then applied makeup with a deft hand, keeping it light but enough to give a flawless appearance and downplay the roundness of her half-American eyes.

_-arriving early to scrub away the words written in silver pen on her desk, squirreling away extra gym clothes in hiding places that were always found—_

She assessed her results carefully and nodded in approval. Heading back out to the main area she donned the D&G dress and red Louboutin pumps then returned to make final adjustments to her hair. Using a curling iron on the back and sides, she pulled it into a ponytail which draped over her right shoulder. One tendril curled along the left side, artfully arranged to look as if it had escaped, and her straight bangs swept in a side part to the right. It was one of five styles she'd taught herself to execute when dealing with high society.

_-shivering and hugging herself, desperately trying to wet dry lips as the sun set for the second time-_

One final check to make sure everything came together.  _'He said casual so I hope this is suitable. Mother says you can never go wrong with designer when dealing with the high-ranking.'_ The pink sleeveless sundress was covered in a pattern of large red poppies and daisies and embellished with appliquéd flowers along the scooped neckline. She gave herself a sharp nod; the woman in the mirror appeared exactly as she'd intended – stylish, refined, and pure Japanese.

A chime sounded from the main room, the DNA Sequencer had finished the run and the results were ready for review. She gave the socialite in the mirror an impish smile,  _'It's almost three, but the guard will let me know when he's here. I can have a little fun.'_

Kyoya slid his Audi R8 into one of the five 'visitor' spots in the small underground company parking lot; the clock on the dash showed 2:37.  _'Punctuality is the politeness of princes, but that runs both ways. Too early is as rude as too late.´_ Ignoring the elevators to the lobby, he took the stairs up one flight to the street to look around while he waited.  _'What a depressing area, all practicality and no artistry.'_ The surrounding buildings had architecture spanning multiple eras, but were all united in the theme of function over form.

The deserted streets made the non-descript car with his security team and the man dressed in carefully casual clothes pretending to have a smoke more obvious than usual. Tachibana hated it when he drove himself, but one of the pleasures of being an adult was getting to make your own choices.  _'Unless you're an Ootori, of course. But at least I have a say in this.'_  He often suspected it was only these small rebellions and plays for freedom that had kept him balanced on the knife edge he'd had to walk for the last four years.

He pulled out a cigarette, waived the waiting guard over for a light then gestured for him to return to his post. It was a habit he'd picked up during college, he knew he should quit but settled for keeping it tightly controlled and only indulged himself when he was agitated.  _'There's no predicting how that idiot will react to this. The last thing I need is dramatics or Tamaki trying to save me from myself.'_ He thought of how Risa'd acted both at the Omiai and at the formal meeting between their families the following day.  _'If she plays the proper Ojou today he'll never believe I'm making my own choice,"_ he shook his head and sighed.

He took another drag and gave a wry half-chuckle.  _'I could always kiss her out of it again.'_  The memory of how flustered she'd been after they'd returned from the tea gardens made him mile. Once he'd caught a glimpse of the passionate little idealist lurking beneath the mask he'd been disinclined to let her put it back on. She had worn it again the day of the family meeting, but that time he'd restrained himself – he wasn't cruel enough to deprive anyone of their armor at an Ootori family gathering.

He turned to examine the building he'd be working in starting tomorrow. Risa's uncle, the son of her grandfather's second wife by another man, was supposed to begin handing off his duties but full transition wouldn't occur until after the yuinou.  _'He won't enjoy losing his position, even if he was incompetent at it and knew it was only temporary from the start. What strategy is he planning to use to undermine me?_ ' He stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it in a nearby garbage can then checked his watch. 2:53; the perfect time to head in so news of his arrival would reach her at precisely 2:55.

The grey concrete and glass square housing Sakura Pharmaceutical Headquarters managed to look squat despite its seven stories and one step through the lobby revealed an interior every bit as depressing as the exterior. He took out his smart phone and made a quick note to check with Yuzuha about a good, affordable designer.  _'We'll need a better brand identity to attract investors and a good workplace design increases employee productivity and retention.'_ The action list was already long; plans and ideas had been percolating in his mind from the minute he'd finished convincing Ootori Yoshio of the merits of the union.

He frowned as he approached the security desk, noting that he could see at least half of the monitors easily. The guard, an overweight man in his sixties, appeared to be dozing off in his chair and only jolted awake when Kyoya cleared his throat. "Ootori Kyoya, here for Tsuchiba-san," he announced without other pleasantries.

" _Kaicho_  and  _Shacho_  aren't here. It  _is_  the weekend." The guard's dismissive tone bordered on rude.

"Tsuchiba  _Risa_. She's expecting me. I was told my name would be on your list." He pushed up his glasses and smiled in a way that would have made a wiser man, one who might have recognized the name of the incoming  _Shacho_ , more cautious.

"One moment." The guard sighed and fumbled with a clipboard, flipping through the pages. "Oh, I guess you  _are_  on here." He pulled out a phone and typed a few words. Without further comment, he turned his attention away from both the monitors and his new boss to begin working on a Sudoku. Kyoya scanned the puzzle, noting at least three errors which were only accumulating as the man continued down the wrong path in this as well. He made another note on his phone to have Tachibana instigate a full review of all security procedures and personnel as soon as possible.

On one of the monitors facing him, he watched Risa exit a room, double check the lock on the door, and then rub the keypad with some type of disinfecting wipe.  _'At least someone in this place is conscious of security.'_  He was mentally able to measure the distance from the lobby to the lab by how long it took her to appear in the hallway behind the security desk after she vanished from the monitor.

She walked over in front of the desk and bowed in greeting.  _"_ Ootori-san…I mean, Kyoya, I'm sorry to keep you waiting." He discreetly perused her from the long, softly curled hair down to the suede pumps with loose bows at the heels. The belted Burberry trench coat hid the outfit underneath, but revealed a trim waist and well-shaped legs.  _'Red suits her much better than those pale blue kimonos she wore last week.'_

"No trouble at all, I arrived a little early," he replied smoothly, instinctively slipping into 'host' mode to hide his irritation at the lax guard.

Risa gave a mental sigh,  _'So, back to being charming huh?'_  She took in his interpretation of a casual outfit. ' _I guess he does own a pair of jeans. Very, very expensive ones; I'm pretty sure those are the same Lorno Piana's that mother bought Walter for Christmas.'_  Underneath his tan trench coat he'd paired the indigo denim with a dark gray summer sweater with a black-banded color. It almost looked like something one of her classmates might have worn; he even had on black leather and white mesh sneakers.  _'I bet those and the sweater are designer, too. Gods, between the two of us we're probably wearing the GNP of a third-world country.'_  Her eyes lingered admiringly just a second too long on the clavicles, sternocleidomastoids, and parts of the pectoralis majors revealed by the deep v-neck.

Giving herself a stern mental shake, she turned to the man behind the security desk who was focused on a puzzle. "Wada-san, did you already provide Ootori-shacho with an exit pass for the parking lot?"

"He didn't tell me he had a car!" The guard protested, turning red and sputtering both in guilt and in shock at her honorific.  _'Someone hasn't been reading the company memos, have they?'_

"I informed you when I put his name down that he would be driving in," she said with a tight smile. As the guard turned his back and began fiddling with a machine she whispered sotto-voce " _nekompetentnym durak._ "

The sneaky insult broke Kyoya's irritated mood and he choked on a laugh. She turned to him and smiled. "You speak Russian?"

"It's a useful language for business," he shrugged, "I also speak English, German, Chinese, and am learning Korean."

Risa peered at him,  _'There's something different since that laugh. I know, it's the eyes, they aren't quite so guarded.'_ She wanted to keep him from slipping back to being 'charming' so adopted a teasing tone,"I've always found insults sound better in Russian or German, but I see I'll have to watch my tongue around you. How's your Punjabi?"

"I've never had reason to learn it."

"Who needs a reason to learn new things?" she laughed. "I made my roommate teach me in exchange for help in organic chem. Don't tell me your one of those who tries to keep his 'brain attic' clean?" she bantered, "You do know Doyle was wrong; there's no limit to human memory."

"I should say, then, that I have never had the _opportunity_  to learn it." He was amused by her implication, "I'm not Sherlock Holmes."

"No? I suspect a more accurate comparison would be Mycroft."

"I'm not secretly running the Japanese government either," he said wryly.

"Ah, but do you  _want_  to?" Any reply he might have made was cut off by the guard handing her the card which would allow them to exit the lot without paying. "Thank you very much, Wada-san, I'm so sorry for your inconvenience," she said sweetly and with utmost sincerity.

They headed for the elevators side-by-side but without touching. Risa waited until the doors had shut behind them before speaking. "I'm sorry about that; I don't know why we hired him. I think he might be a drinking buddy of my Uncle's."

"He did seem unusually  _nekompetentnym,_ " he said lightly. "Do you need to get a pass to exit each time?"

"Only visitors; employees who pay for parking or have an assigned spot can exit with their badges. You can also pick up an extra pass for your driver if you have one; they'll get you setup on all that when you start tomorrow."

"You don't drive in?"

"Sometimes I come with Ojii-sama, but I keep odd hours so I usually take the train."

Kyoya thought of the almost deserted streets; the buildings were all corporate offices with no restaurants or commercial storefronts to attract visitors outside business hours. He mentally pictured his chief researcher and key to the company's economic future walking down them to the train station late at night in her bright red coat.  _'Like little red riding hood completely unaware of the wolves on all sides. Security is definitely moving to the top of the priority list.'_

Risa halted when she stepped out of the elevator saw the single car sitting in the lot.  _'I expected expensive, and sleek, but this? It looks like what Batman would drive – if his signature color was electric blue.'_

"Is something wrong?"

"This is just a lot flashier than I expected. I don't know why, but I was thinking you'd drive a town car or at least something in black. Maybe silver."

"I use a chauffeured town car for business, but I enjoy driving myself whenever the opportunity arises." He walked around to the right side door and opened it for her. "However, the color might have been a miscalculation," he conceded.

Risa faked shock as she settled into the passenger seat. "You actually admit you make mistakes?"

"Never," he declared glibly, "I don't make mistakes; only minor miscalculations." He got in the driver's side and started up the engine. "The blacks and grays didn't highlight the detailing to my satisfaction," he explained.

"Then where was the miscalculation?"

"I could have picked the red," he replied dryly, the barest hint of a smile playing on his lips. His unexpected joke surprised a laugh out of her.

' _Good, she's definitely not the Ouja, though she's not quite the firebrand either.'_ Kyoya relaxed and concentrated on enjoying the feel of the car purring beneath his hands; lately being behind the wheel was the only time he felt free. He glanced over at his passenger; she'd snuggled down into the seat and was smiling out the window at the passing scenery. "You seem to be in a good mood today."

She looked over at him and gave a lazy shrug, "I'm always in a good mood when I get to spend time alone in the lab. Thank you for picking me up, I know it's out of your way; I could have met you there."

"It was no trouble and I thought it might be good way to spend some time together first. You said you keep odd hours, is the project keeping you that busy?"

She looked back out the window and was silent for so long he didn't think she would answer. When he did, the anxiety in her voice surprised him. "You need to understand; this is the way I am. I'm either in the lab or doing whatever I need to do so that I can get back into the lab. Nights, weekends, I even slept in the break room for two weeks during the start of the trials. I'm never going to be the kind of wife who greets you with dinner on the table and a clean house." She turned back to face him, "If that's not something you're okay with then, well…it's only family and friends right now. We can still call it off."

' _So she's finally realized there is more to this than a business partnership.'_  He thought about how to answer all the implied questions her statement had held. "My mother works, as does Yuuichi's wife, and I've always intended to marry an accomplished woman. As far as I'm concerned, meals and housekeeping are what you hire staff for."

"You really don't mind? I won't be spending my days with committees and lunches trying to smooth the way for you in society either."

"Didn't you select me because I could smooth the way for you in society?" he teased to set her insecurities to rest. "I don't mind at all. Besides, it would be churlish to marry you for your genius and then demand you reject it."

Risa released the breath she had been holding. "I suppose these are the kind of things most people talk about at an Omiai instead of turning it into a job interview."

"Probably. Is there anything else? Anything you believe would make me want to break it off?"

"Well, I'm not sure I like your family very much. Your sister seems nice, but if I have to spend too much time with Akito-sensei's wife I may poison her." She didn't sound very apologetic.

He snorted, "I think even Akito would be happy if you poisoned his wife." The woman was an absolute harridan and the two fought constantly, but she'd been the price of father acquiring a line of boutique addiction clinics, "If you do then it would be very beneficial to me if you could make it appear as if Yuuichi was guilty."

As he'd intended, the joke relieved the rest of Risa's tension. "I could do that," she rubbed her chin calculatingly, "guilty as in go to prison or just enough to cause a scandal?"

"The latter, I think. He's pompous, but he's still family."

She laughed. "How about you? Anything you think might cause me to break it off?"

"No," he said emphatically and without elaboration.

"Really, you think you're that perfect?" she teased.

"I mean I won't allow you to break it off. I warned you; once there is something I want I'm ruthless in securing it." She shivered slightly at the steel in his voice.

"Why? I mean…it's been bothering me. I can't figure out why you agreed; I thought you regarded me as a naïve dreamer."

"Only in how you were going about it," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Ouch. You don't pull any punches," she said resentfully.

He pushed his glasses up with his left hand and shot her a bemused look. "You said you wanted a partner and that requires a certain amount of truth between us. Your methods were naïve, but your goal isn't," he added conciliatorily.

Mollified, she asked, "So you really believe we can do it? Build the next pharmaceutical empire?"

"I wouldn't have agreed to this if I didn't."

"I still don't understand what you get out of it; you have far more power and prestige working for the Ootori Group. Are you sure your decision isn't an impulse you'll regret?"

"It wasn't an impulse. You presented an opportunity to achieve something I've been working towards for a very long time using an alternate route. Opportunities only multiply when they are seized."

"And what is it you're working towards?"

He paused as if uncertain how she'd react. "I intend to become the Chairman of the Ootori Group."

"I thought that was going to be Yuuichi-sensei."

"My father hasn't declared anything official. He claims that the final decision will be based on merit and not order of birth."

"Does that mean you're all competing for it?" She thought for a minute about what that could mean in a family of four; it was absolutely appalling. "What a Darwinian way to raise children!" she exclaimed.

"Survival-of-the-fittest is a good way to describe the Ootori childrearing philosophy," he said bitterly. "It's down to just Yuuichi and me. Fuyumi took herself out of the running years ago and Akito has thrown his support behind my older brother; I used to believe he lacked ambition but now I understand he was just the first of us to realize the truth."

"And what's that?"

"My father likes to play us off against each other and offers this as a prize to make sure we give him our best. I've stopped believing he will ever commit unless he's forced into it; failing that it will be the board who decides. I've already accomplished more than my brothers at the same age, but Yuuichi has a fifteen year head start and is in a position to hamper my efforts; it will take me a long time to surpass him if I stay within the  _zaibatsu."_

"And when victory is long in coming, ardor is dampened?" Realization dawned on her, "So I'm what? Your shortcut? You plan to use my research to build Sakura up then sell it to the Ootori Group in exchange for the position? Didn't you think I might want a say in this?"

"I'm giving you a chance to have that say now," he replied measuredly, "A partnership will only survive if it meets both parties stated goals."

' _I suppose it's only rational that he would have goals too. Doesn't make me feel less irritated and used.'_  She reflected for a minute on what her goals were before replying, "I think I can agree, but you can't do it for anything less than full power. I already told you, I'm not putting myself or my company in someone else's hands."

"That fits my plan; I will continue to guarantee you control over your research."

"It would have to be ironclad that you couldn't be replaced, unless it's to an heir we both agree on; my family legacy is important to me."

He gave a brief smile at this. "Are you implying you want children?"

The suddenly awkward direction of the conversation knocked her off balance and she flushed. "We…we…really didn't talk about any of the normal stuff at our Omiai did we?" She swallowed nervously and turned her gaze out the window. "I suppose I do want children, but I'm not sure about four. Actually, if being an Ootori means being raised like we should stop at one," she joked to alleviate her discomfort.

"I'm not my father," he replied seriously, "I will  _not_  raise my children in the same way." His hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"Does that mean you won't push them to take a place in the  _zaibatsu?_ "

"I hope they can appreciate their birthright, but I won't dictate every aspect of their lives to that effect. I would be satisfied as long as they excelled in whatever field they chose. Would you be disappointed if none of them followed you?"

"I can't deny that I hope they would. In the end, though, I think I'd just want to find something they really loved." Still uncomfortable with the current topic she moved to lighten the mood again. "Unless it's politics…or psychology, then their dead to me."

He dutifully chuckled and the conversation lapsed into silence.  _'Children. I hadn't really thought about it but they are one of the natural outcomes of marriage aren't they? Of course, that would mean…"_  She swallowed hard. It wasn't that she was unfamiliar with the theory; she'd even taught an undergraduate course on it.  _'and wasn't_ that _enlightening?'_  She was just a bit lacking in practical application as it were.  _'I don't suppose he'd consider IVF? No, probably not.'_  Risa studied him a bit, he really was a handsome man and she was enjoying his company, _'You don't even need to like each other, it's just a simple exercise in physiology and bio-mechanics.'_ Then there was that kiss… _'And I'm sure he's an experienced field researcher, too...but still….'_

"Umm… about that…children…" she could feel herself turning bright red and she kept her eyes resolutely on the hands twisting the handle of the Dior purse in her lap.  _'It's only biology, why am I so embarrassed about it?'_

One look told Kyoya the content of her thoughts,  _'She's fun to tease, but I suppose I should have mercy this time.'_ He interrupted her stammer graciously, "I assure you I have no expectations in that regard; we are still mostly strangers to each other."

"Oh. Good. I didn't mean to imply anything; it was just because of that ki…."

' _But not that much mercy.'_ Before she could finish he followed up with, "But I won't promise not to seize any opportunities presented." Much to his amusement, she turned a shade near the color of her coat and turned to look out the window.


	6. The Host Club, part 1

Kyoya glanced over at the girl blushing furiously next to him, _'she's cute when she's flustered.'_ He turned that thought over in his head a few times. _'Well, it's not as if it's a bad thing to be attracted to the only sexual partner you'll have for the rest of your life.'_ He'd long ago determined that affairs, even discrete ones, opened you up to exploitation and from what he had observed the rewards seldom outweighed the costs. In some ways it would be a relief to be done with the game. For any man of class and wealth, sex came replete with hidden pitfalls and it was even more so if your surname was Ootori. He'd dealt with it all – from women who furtively sabotaged contraception, to those who rifled through his desk, to those who simply used him to attract the potentially more lucrative attention of his father or Yuuichi.

Risa stirred beside him; when he looked again she had mastered her embarrassment and resumed her good spirits. "So, how do you know this couple? You only said they were friends from high school, were you classmates?" she asked.

His mind flooded with memories. _'You could fill books with the story of how I know them.'_ He settled for the simplest explanation. "Tamaki and I were classmates since middle school. His wife was our kohai and in the same club with us."

"Do you see them often?"

"Not as much as I thought I would." Once he'd thought they'd be friends forever with nothing much changing, but the responsibilities of adult life intruded quickly for all of them. "First I was away at Harvard, then right after graduation I was travelling constantly for work."

"I know, I remember that from my investigation. General troubleshooter fixing what was wrong with underperforming companies and divisions, right? It was one of the reasons I thought you could do the same for Sakura. But didn't you move back to Tokyo once you were promoted to _Bucho_?"

"I've seen them when I can since then, but I've been even busier and they're newlyweds." It was an equivocation. He was ashamed of the reason he'd allowed the distance to grow between them, ashamed of the gnawing jealousy that drove him even harder to succeed; he'd had to withdraw to avoid coming to hate his best friend.

Risa watched him closely; there was something very different about his expression when talking about this couple. "You care about them a great deal, don't you?" she guessed.

"What makes you say that?" he evaded.

' _It's your eyes; it's the first time they've looked like you've had any emotion at all.'_ Risa was beginning to think she might have found a way to see through his placidity, but you never inform a poker player of his tells. "Instinct," she said. There was a long pause; finally she realized that he had no intention of answering. "So what club? Let me guess, something like Future Business Leaders of Japan."

"Not quite that mundane."

"That's a mysterious reply; don't tell me it was something scandalous like a motorcycle club." The idea of him with bleached hair and a denim jacket perched on a Kawasaki almost triggered a fit of the giggles. "Do you have a secret bad boy past?" she mockingly gasped.

"You are the first person to ever accuse me of hiding a 'bad boy' past."

' _He almost smiled on that one.'_ Something about his phlegmatic exterior made her want to poke it with a sharp stick. Every glimpse of unexpected humor or impromptu response felt like a victory in the undefined battle going on between them. "And you are trying to evade the question, which makes me even more curious. C'mon, you know it will be the first thing I ask about when I get there so you may as well tell me," she pleaded.

He looked like he might play it out a bit longer, but then gave in. "It was a Host Club."

Blinking in surprise, she tried to process the answer. "A Host Club? You mean like those skeevy places in Kabukicho where people can get fake boyfriends or girlfriends?"

"It was much more innocent, I assure you. Just providing young ladies with way too much time on their hands some enjoyable artistic and cultural experiences."

She parsed through that sentence; it was a bit too glib. "So, you entertained them with fake romantic situations?"

"We used idealized interactive adventures as a palatable way to provide education on many different aspects of civilization."

"That's a yes, then. Did you earn any money?"

"Indirectly, through promotional materials and memorabilia sales. It was purely as a means of funding further activities."

Her lips were twitching in amusement; this shattered almost every perception she'd had of him so far. "So to sum up, in high school you were in a club where you romanced women in exchange for money? Basically you were a gigolo."

He gave an incredibly wide smile that was almost menacing, but just made her want to laugh. "I don't think you fully understood my explan…."

"Oh, no no no." She waived her hand back and forth in denial while chuckling, "Please just let me enjoy the fact that you are not nearly as prim and proper as you appear."

For some reason, that seemed to amuse him. "You believe I'm prim and proper?"

Risa sobered a bit, thinking over her interactions with him so far and assessing the data. "I don't know if _you_ are. The Kyoya I met first at the Omiai certainly was."

"The Risa I met first at the Omiai was as well and I don't think you could be summed up based only off that one facet."

"Fair point," she conceded. "You can thank my mother that I can pull it off; she may hate Japan, but she was determined her daughter wouldn't disgrace her."

His brow furrowed, "Why does she hate Japan?"

"She claims she never fit in here, that Japanese high society was too much of a closed circle for her to gain entry. I think it was more that she and my father never saw eye-to-eye. He wanted a traditional Japanese wife and she wanted a husband with political ambitions." Risa couldn't even remember a time when they weren't engaged in weekly screaming matches which lasted for hours with accusations of infidelity on both sides. That would have been bad enough, but she preferred those days to when her mother moved out and sued her father for a divorce. "You said you didn't want scandal attached to your family, but you do know my parents had a very public and bitter divorce, right?"

"It was all in the dossier I had prepared and I took it under consideration. However, larger scandals than that can be swept under the rug between the passage of time and the Ootori name."

' _Of course it was in that dossier, it was public gossip for months.'_ It triggered arguments and recriminations behind the closed doors of many elite households which were naturally heard by their children. "I bet that file on me has things I don't even know. Anyway, she's much happier with husband number four; Walter wants to be on the President's economic advisory committee someday."

"Do you regret staying in Japan when she returned home?"

"Not at all. She wanted to make me in her image too much. She's very happy about our engagement, she remembers your father-" _'Sweet Mendel, I hope she remembers him only as my father's friend because that would be way too awkward otherwise. At least I know Kyoya can't be my half-brother, I made sure of my paternity myself.'_ " _-_ She believes you'll eventually make me stop 'grubbing around in the lab' and take my place in society. I do give her credit for preparing me to handle myself in it, though. I can also do a pretty good New York Socialite."

"There's a difference?"

"The demure Japanese daughter is an ice princess; the socialite is a bit of a flirt."

"Interesting, I'll look forward to meeting her. So, who are you now?"

"Right now I'm just the Risa who had a good day in the lab. It's not a role, but it's probably not the real me either. How about you? I met the charmer and the businessman, is this the real you?"

"I'm never anyone other than myself." He slowed the car and turned into the start of a driveway, "this is it; we're here."

A wrought iron fence almost three meters tall enwrapped almost an entire city block; every centimeter of it was lined with tall flowering bushes that hid the interior of the property from the road. As Kyoya edged he car up the driveway a gate automatically opened to let them pass; Risa looked up and could see cameras mounted on each gate post, she presumed someone inside had recognized both car and driver. Immediately past the entry, a house looming over the pristine lawn became visible for the first time. _'Mon Dieu, it looks like it should be in the middle of some European countryside not downtown Tokyo.'_ The driveway curved up and around the front of a building that looked like the architect had been inspired by Versailles, then told to make it smaller and build it entirely out of white brick and gold leaf. It was quite possibly the most ostentatiously tacky thing she had ever seen. _'It's still better than the glass and chrome monstrosity Kyoya's family has.'_

He parked the car in front of the house and left the keys in the ignition for the servant who would come and move it into the garage. A deep breath steeled him for the meeting to come. _'What will it be – a tantrum, recriminations, a passionate speech on love, an inquisition, an elaborate plan or production – so many possibilities to choose from.'_ When Risa accepted his extended hand for assistance out of the car he could already see the reserved composure settling in on her features. He shut the door behind her, but did not drop her hand and his body blocked her from moving forward. "You won't need it," he said quietly.

"Need what?"

"Your mask. Tamaki has a savant-like aptitude for getting underneath them anyway; it will save you time and a great deal of hassle to forego it." He knew it was asking a lot of her, from what he had seen she had only one line of defense against strangers who might hurt her and she didn't yet know him well enough to act on his word alone. Leaning in intimately, he spoke to her in language aimed at reminding her of what she'd asked for from their relationship. "Risa, trust between partners is essential. Why not let it start here?"

He could tell his words had penetrated and she was wrestling between her instinct for self-preservation and her commitment to him. "Alright," she finally agreed, "but don't blame me if they don't like who they meet."

"Don't worry; you're not the one they're evaluating," he replied cryptically and placed her arm in his for the journey to the door. It was opened by a tuxedoed man before they had finished fully ascending the steps.

"Ootori-sama, ojou-sama welcome," the butler greeted sonorously.

"Hello Shima-san, how is your mother enjoying her retirement?" replied Kyoya, ushering Risa inside.

"I'm sure she would enjoy it greatly if she actually retired."

"Still ruling everything with an iron fist I take it?"

"Very much so, sir. May I take your coats?"

Kyoya had already removed his and handed it over to the man while Risa unbelted her jacket and undid the buttons. As he slipped it off her shoulders, he was finally able to see the figure the kimonos of the previous week had hidden. The sleeveless dress emphasized a bird-like bone structure and arms that were thin without being scrawny. She turned to thank him for his assistance and he let his eyes roam possessively over small, pert breasts and a trim waist.

Risa flushed delicately under his perusal. "Is this alright? You said casual but that can be anything from back-yard BBQ to afternoon tea."

"It's perfect, you look lovely," he said sincerely. She was just a bit overdressed for dinner with his friends, but not for a typical function of this sort and he found he was very pleased with her selection.

"So you really did make it after all, Kyoya," said a dry alto over his shoulder. When he turned and saw the small, heavily pregnant blond woman standing next to the brunette he stifled a groan. _'I shouldn't have given Haruhi warning I was bringing someone.'_ He had been tempted to keep silent, but in the end years of social training had won out and he could not be that impolite to his hostess.

"I promised I would, Haruhi," he said, giving an informal nod instead of a bow. He turned to the second female, "And Kaori-chan, so nice to see you again. How is Ryouta-kun?"

"Into everything, two is a very active age," she said brightly. "He's upstairs right now being spoiled by the maids. Well, don't keep us waiting, introduce your guest."

' _She used to be such a sweet child; being lady of the Morinozuka family has made her quite imperious.'_ "Of course. This is Tsuchiba-sensei."

" _Hajimemashite_. I'm Risa, _Yoroshiku onegaishimasu_." She accompanied her polite greeting with a deep bow.

"Risa, this is my kohai Suoh Haruhi and my sempai's wife Morinozuka Kaori." The two women responded with more casual greetings, introducing themselves by their first names.

The blond scurried forward and looped her arm through Risa's. "We are very excited to meet you, Risa-chan. Come on, I'll go introduce you to everyone else," she said, pulling his slightly bewildered date off through the doors to the living room.

' _That was a nicely done trick to leave the two of us alone. The pupil doesn't quite outshine the master, but she's gotten better.'_ He pushed up his glasses and gave a wry smile to the mastermind of that particular shenanigan. "Learning how to manipulate situations to your benefit, counselor?"

"It's an occupational hazard," she confessed with a smile. "I just wanted a chance to apologize before you go in. I know you asked me not to say anything but the twins were in town and Tamaki wouldn't understand why I didn't want them to come over so I had to tell him you were bringing someone."

"So that means?"

"Yes, sorry. Everyone but Reiko-chan is here. She's giving a lecture in London on Germany's use of the occult during World War II."

"You could have warned me."

"Would you still have come?" Her hair was longer and her dress sense more fashionable, but her eyes had lost none of their directness. If anything, two years as a criminal attorney had made them even more piercing and he nearly flinched under their accurate assessment. "It's been over six months, Kyoya. That's long even for you; we used to at least get pictures of your cat." Her tone gentled and she looked at him imploringly. "He misses you, he's been flitting about happily for days knowing you were coming; I wasn't going to risk having you break his heart again."

Guilt gripped his chest. _'She's learned how to go for the jugular as well._ ' He knew exactly how long it had been, his last correspondence had been a routine thank you for the aged bottle of whisky Tamaki had given him as a birthday present. The last time he'd seen them in person had been the day of their wedding. "I've had a great deal of work since October."

Her eyes said she wasn't buying his excuse for one second. "Whatever. I don't know if you two fought or if it's something else, just sort it out," she ordered. She reached out and put her hand on his arm, "Please Kyoya? He needs you, and I think you need him too."

She was one of the few people he couldn't refuse but she almost never used that power. He reached up to pat her hand reassuringly. "I will, if it means that much to you."

"It does. Thank you." She stepped back and said lightly, "besides, without you around I have to handle the crazy on my own. I need you to do your job, Sempai." A smile took any sting out of the words. "Now, I want to go talk more with this mystery girl of yours."

* * *

Risa stopped, awe-struck, at the threshold to the gigantic living room. The baroque-styled room could easily have doubled as a ballroom if you removed the multiple conversational areas that dotted it, but that wasn't what had captured her attention. The room was currently occupied by five of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen. A large solidly built brunette lounged on one of the two sofas facing each other in the center of the room; a blond teenager was bouncing behind him, arms draped familiarly around the older man's shoulders. Over in a trapezoidal alcove two similar looking men in cutting edge Tokyo street-fashion seemed to be arguing over what music to put on the stereo; from the way they were poking at each other it looked like violence was imminent. The most compelling figure, however, was the tall blond elegantly poised against the fireplace in such a casually artistic manner that she was certain it was staged.

"It's pretty overwhelming when they're all together like this, isn't it?" Kaori whispered in her ear mischievously, "You might want to close your mouth and breathe." Risa shut her mouth, embarrassed to have been caught gaping.

The giant from the sofa, who was easily in the top percentile for height, peeled himself away from his young companion to come over and stand right beside her self-appointed welcome wagon. "Kaori, you should be sitting," he rumbled in a deep bass.

"In a minute, _anata_." The petite blond dismissed him with a wave. "Risa-chan, this is my husband Takashi but everybody calls him Mori."

Risa repeated her polite greeting from earlier which he returned before turning back to his wife. "The doctor said you should stay off your feet."

"Don't fuss. I want to introduce Risa-chan to everyone first."

The colossus frowned faintly, then leaned down to whisper something in Kaori's ear that had her turning bright pink. "You wouldn't!" she exclaimed in outrage, but one look at his face seemed to inform her that he most definitely would. "Fine. Mitsu-chan, come meet Risa – Taka's dragging me off to rest again," she called out to the teenager as she allowed herself to be half-dragged back to the sofa where her husband proceeded to bustle about making sure she was comfortable.

Risa prepared herself for another formal greeting but was instead nearly swept off her feet in a bear hug that squeezed the air out of her lungs. She instinctively returned it with equal exuberance; her first summer visiting Ryan's family in Texas had broken any cultural reserve she had about hugging. Between church, country club, Ryan's friends, Amy's friends, the booster club, and her hosts' business parties she sometimes felt that she had hugged half of Odessa. "Ri-chan! I'm Honey!" exclaimed the bubbly teenager. Stepping back, he took her by both hands and swung her around in a circle. "You look so cute, just like a flower garden!" He stopped right as she began to get dizzy and blinked at her with clear, guileless eyes. "Are you Kyo-chan's girlfriend?"

She started to trip over an answer, not quite sure what Kyoya had told them, when she was rescued by a cool voice from behind her shoulder. "Tsuchiba-sensei is my fiancée." The announcement froze everyone in the room and six pairs of curious eyes turned towards them.

"Oh really?" chorused the young men by the stereo. They dropped their argument and began stalking towards her with predatory, leonine grace. However, before they could reach her, the man from the fireplace launched himself at Kyoya like a blond bullet train.

"Kyoya, _mon ami_!" He gabbled in an excited tenor while clinging to the shorter man like a limpet, "I just found the best restaurant this last week; they have real Philly cheese steak sandwiches just like we used to get in Boston. You must go to lunch with me there this week."

In that instant, Kyoya knew all was forgiven. Of course they would have to talk about it, but whatever hurt or resentment his friend might have felt towards him had already been forgotten. Immersing himself back into their routine, he roughly stiff armed Tamaki and said gruffly, "Get off me, you oaf. Who says I have time to go eat lunch with you."

"But they even have real New England clam chowder," violet puppy-dog eyes blinked at him rapidly before being replaced by a sly, knowing expression. "Besides, shouldn't we see if there's any potential opportunity for Suoh and Sakura to work together?"

Kyoya stilled at the realization that Tamaki already seemed to know his news. _'He's such an annoying idiot it's easy to forget he's smart enough to run a multi-national conglomerate.'_ Putting two and two together, he quickly figured out who the informant was. "I see you've been talking to Fuyumi again."

"She loved the clam chowder," Tamaki confirmed. Turning to Risa he took her right hand and murmured in the voice used to charm countless women, "You must be Kyoya's princess, _Bonjour mademoiselle,_ I am Tamaki, _enchante_." He lightly grazed her knuckle with a kiss.

" _Je suis_ _ravi de faire votre connaissance, Monsieur Tamaki_ ," she responded, "Please, call me Risa," she added in Japanese.

"You speak French! Kyoya, where have you been hiding this delightful girl," he mock scolded, "it's been too long since I was able to speak my favorite language. Come and talk with me awhile. _J'aimerais mieux te connaître._ " Tamaki began pulling her over towards two chairs in a corner far from any of the other occupants in the room. Risa looked back over her shoulder in consternation, but Kyoya merely gave her an encouraging nod. This conversation was as inevitable as the one he and Tamaki were bound to have later.

' _So this is who Kyoya wanted me to meet, he isn't like what I was expecting.'_ She had assumed he'd be like her former classmates, either a pretentious snob with little intellect or a sharply ambitious weasel with too much. This man, who put her in mind of an over-excited golden retriever, was clearly something else entirely. He sat her in one of the overly-brocaded chairs and then took his seat across from her, resting the ankle of one long leg against the opposite knee and propping his tilted head stylishly against the back of his hand.

"Your accent is _tres magnifique,_ princess." He continued in French. Risa looked around and realized the language had the added benefit of giving them some additional privacy for his thinly veiled interrogation.

"Thank you, sir, but I can tell yours is much better."

He gave a Gallic shrug that caused one side of his boat-neck sweater to slip down his shoulder. "It's my first language, though."

"Oh, are you _hafu_?" she exclaimed in surprise and immediately regretted it, "Sorry, that was rude. Please ignore the question." She flushed, ashamed to have been so ill-mannered.

"How is it rude? I'm proud of my French heritage." His eyes narrowed and she caught just a hint of threat beneath them, for all his amiability she was fully aware that he was testing her. "Do you have something against people who aren't full Japanese?" The words were said lightly, but she could detect the disapproval underneath.

"Not at all, I'm half American," she revealed to assure him, "My mother is from New York."

The underlying censure vanished as quickly as it had appeared and he regarded her instead with sympathetic warmth. "I see, but you've met people who look down on us, haven't you? I prefer to think that we _hafu_ are fortunate, we inherit the best of both sides." His eyes grew wide with excitement and he dropped his studied indolence. Leaning forward he grabbed both her hands in his. "I just had an incredible idea! We should give you a proper welcome and have an authentic American 4th of July party! Haruhi makes the best hamburgers." He dropped her hands, put one of his on his heart and the other to his head in a salute. "I will play General Washington, Haruhi will be Martha of course, and you… you must be Lucy Knox," he finished with a flourish.

' _I will not laugh at Kyoya's friend. I will not laugh at Kyoya's friend. I will not…'_ She bit the inside of her cheek and swallowed hard to keep her composure. She latched on to the only part of his impromptu declaration she could safely comment on. "Why Lucy? Most people would say Betsy Ross."

Tamaki relaxed into his chair, back in his original deliberate pose. "It must be Lucy, since you're engaged to my General Knox. I'll tell Kyoya about our plan and he can arrange it," he said dismissively.

' _And it's decided just like that? Wait, how did it become_ our _plan? Bozhe moi! Kyoya will kill me.'_ Still not certain just what had transpired, she could only respond to his last statement. "Does he make such arrangements for you often?"

"He will," the blond said dismissing any concerns with a princely wave. "Now tell me, where did you learn to speak French like a Parisian? Perhaps you studied there?"

"I've never even visited. I used to assist Monsieur Belmont during free periods and he insisted we only speak in French."

"Belmont…. Not the Belmont who taught chemistry at Ouran?" he asked animatedly.

' _Please, please, please don't get excited again.'_ She answered warily, "Yes, the same."

Thankfully, he managed to remain calmer. "I didn't realize you attended, I try to keep track of all the graduates, especially those that are _tres mignon_ , but I don't remember you."

"I left after second year middle school to attend school in the U.S."

"Our sister school in Boston?" He uncrossed his legs and bent forward over his knees. "How did you like it? We had so much fun in Boston! And New York! And Washington D.C! We even made it to Orlando! And the food, the commoner food in America is terrific!"

She was beginning to realize that vibrant was his default state and the elegant laziness he initially adopted merely a pose. "Boston area yes, but I went to M.I.T."

"College at fourteen? How remarkable; no wonder Kyoya finds you interesting." He propped his chin on his hands, face lined with thoughtfulness, "It must have been difficult for you, leaving all your friends and family to go to strange new country."

"I didn't have much to leave," she understated. The truth was she'd been eager to get as far away as possible. "But, college was…" She let the memories wash over here, unaware of the way it lit up her face. "It was like going somewhere only to find the home and family you never knew existed waiting for you."

Tamaki returned her smile with a warm nostalgic one of his own, "I think I know the feeling. Are all your friends still back there?"

"Yes, I had to return to Japan after graduation, my family here needed me," she said sadly. Risa sighed, and managed a tremulous smile, "But we keep in touch."

"It isn't the same, though, is it? Emails and phone calls aren't enough."

She looked at him, surprised at the notes of pain in his voice. "You sound like you have experience with that, Monsieur."

"I have," he replied, then shrugged and beamed delightedly, "but they're back now and I won't let that distance occur again. So tell me, why are you marrying my beloved friend?"

The sudden swerve in conversation knocked her off balance and she stammered disapprovingly, "That is a very direct question, Monsieur."

"We're speaking French; it's a good language for saying things you can't in Japanese," he said lightly before mercurially switching back to solemn, "Do you love him?"

She didn't want to answer, but at the same time felt she couldn't lie under his intense scrutiny. "I don't really know him yet, this is… well it's a business arrangement."

He reached forward and took her right hand in his then rested his left atop. "Are you unhappy with it?" he asked gravely, "I can help you find a way out. Marriage should be about love and not what benefits one's family."

"Are you concerned about me or your friend, Monsieur?" she asked sharply, well aware that she was the outsider in this circle.

"I'm concerned for both of you. I want my friend to be happy and I can't stand to see a beautiful woman cry." She searched his eyes but couldn't see anything other than sincerity. _'If I wanted out, I think he really would find a way even if it meant opposing Kyoya.'_

She squeezed the hand holding hers reassuringly. "You don't need to concern yourself with me; and I owe him too much for doing this to try to make him unhappy." The conversation had made her melancholic, aware of the potential futures she was turning away from by choosing this path. _'I still think it's the best thing, though, and unless Kyoya changes his mind I won't either.'_

Tamaki tilted his head, regarding her for a long minute before coming to some internal conclusion. His manner once again suddenly switched "Forgive me, I didn't mean to make you sad. What can I do to restore the bright, warm smile to your face Risa-hime," he said in a playfully teasing tone.

Risa felt a sudden release of tension. "You, Monsieur Tamaki, are a terrible flirt. What would your wife think?" she scolded.

"She would think I'm not happy unless I have the attention of every lovely girl in the room, and she'd be right," he replied airily, "Besides, it's my duty to ensure the happiness of every young lady from Ouran Academy."

' _Does he believe half the things that come out of his mouth?'_ There was something heady about being with him, though, as if for that time you were the single most interesting and important person in the entire world and nothing you could say would be wrong. _'I bet he was a really good gigolo.'_ She gave in to the smile that formed between the thought and her relief at the interview being over.

"Ah – there's your smile. Good." He assisted her up out of the chair. "Now, let's go tell everyone about our plan for the next get together," he said conspiratorially and pulled her towards where Kyoya was conversing with the giant and the teenager, shouting excitedly in Japanese. "Kyoya! Risa and I just had the best idea! What would it take for us to reenact the Boston Tea Party in Tokyo Bay?"


	7. The Host Club, Part 2

"Dinner in July once Rei-chan's back, 'kay Kyo-chan! Don't forget," Honey added unnecessarily and skipped off to confer with Mori without waiting for a reply.

Kyoya removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh; the conversation with Honey had been the fifth that was little more than another variation on the same themes – _"is your father forcing you? How does this benefit you? Tamaki missed you."_ The last one was what everyone dwelled on the most in a fruitless attempt to induce guilt. He knew his friends meant well, but he'd always believed guilt was a useless emotion and there was no merit in it except as a form of self-indulgence; remorse was only for those unwilling to take full responsibility for their actions.

He took a moment to enjoy his temporary reprieve from prying questions and surveyed the terrace where the party had moved to for the buffet-style dinner. The former Host Club was scattered in groups of two or three around the patio - Mori and Honey with Tamaki, Haruhi with Kaori, and Risa animatedly talking with the twins. Kyoya hadn't failed to notice that the two of them had been kept separated since the meal began so each could be interrogated privately. The only person Kyoya hadn't talked to yet was the hyperactive blond himself. Every time he'd approached him, Tamaki had haired off babbling about how he needed to go talk to _someone_ about _something_ that seemed completely unimportant.

A laugh drew his eyes back to Risa; she was smiling at something Hikaru had just said but her eyes were showing signs of strain. He felt a brief pang of a useless emotion at her expression and when the brothers left he grabbed some refreshment and took the chance to speak with her. At least if he were with her he'd have a respite from well-intentioned meddling and he wouldn't be subject to awkward questions.

* * *

"Wine?" he asked, holding out the glass.

She gratefully accepted while muttering, "Oh dear God, yes." Two gulps reduced the volume in her glass by a third.

She had dropped her smile and her eyes had a weary look. He mentally assessed her as being a bit annoyed and moved to smooth the waters with his best hosting mannerisms. "Thank you for doing this, my friends can be a bit exhausting if you're not used to them."

"Mmm," she replied noncommittally and took another sip of wine. "Your friends aren't what I expected. For one thing, there are _more_ of them." She flashed him the same tight smile she'd given the incompetent guard and he mentally upgraded her from 'annoyed' to 'upset'.

"I thought it would only be Haruhi and Tamaki."

"Mmm hmmm…." Again with the noncommittal sound, then she moved in for the kill. "Kaori was telling me that this is a regular thing, at least once or twice a month. Did you fail to compile a comprehensive dossier before we attended?" she challenged.

' _No, not upset. Irate. And very sarcastically so,'_ he concluded. "I didn't believe anyone else would be here. Mori doesn't like his wife doing much this close to her due date; Honey doesn't go anywhere without either Mori or Reiko, and the twins have turned their birthday into a highlight of the New York fashion scene."

"So you made a mistake?" her tone softened to teasing as her temper vanished in the face of a reasonable justification.

"A miscalculation," he replied in a similar tone, grateful she wasn't one to hold a grudge.

"You're prevaricating, but I'll let it stand," she smiled and handed him a piece of paper she'd been holding. "Speaking of birthdays, we've been invited. Technically _I've_ been invited and _you_ are allowed to come as my date."

Kyoya looked down at the black ticket with white writing admitting the bearer and guest to the Hitachiin Brothers' 28th birthday celebration in two weeks. They must have thrown it together in a rush since even he hadn't realized it would be in Japan this year. "You must have impressed them. The twins are highly selective about who they hand these out to."

"I did have to promise, and I'm quoting here, that I wouldn't come dressed like a New York socialite with a stick up her ass."

He gave a microscopic wince, the sarcasm was back. "Ah. Hikaru can be a bit abrasive."

"That was Karou. I'm not sure he likes me much. Or maybe it's just that he doesn't like the idea of you marrying much." She gave him a questioning look then shrugged when he failed to respond and moved on. "Hikaru is the one who gave me the invite, did you know he was the creator of the game I was addicted to my fourth year? He wants me to send him pictures from our "Alice vs. the Zombies" themed Halloween party and setup a 'Zombie Defense Force' clan match once he gets back to New York. I can tell my social calendar is about to get a lot busier."

"They are a pretty social group." Now it was his turn to be noncommittal.

"And yet, strangely, you've been mysteriously absent for the last few months," it was said lightly but her eyes were analyzing his reaction. He moved to mask his surprise at her question, but she must have caught it because she moved to clarify. "Kaori again, the woman is a real font of information."

"I can tell. I really must thank her." He smiled broadly as he thought of all the things he would love to do in revenge. He had been concerned that his friends had been interrogating her, but instead they'd apparently been busy filling her in on speculation and gossip.

"Oh," she giggled, "your mean mask is almost as convincing as your charming one. I hope that's the face our competitors will get to see."

"What makes you think it's a mask?" he asked, taking a sip of wine to mask his bemusement at her erroneous conclusion.

"If you were a cruel man I don't think I would have had to spend the last two hours convincing a group of people that I'm not a gold-digging whore," she said with sickening sweetness.

He choked on the wine and narrowly avoided spitting it out. Kyoya revised his opinion on her ability to hold a grudge, obviously with Risa revenge was a dish best served cold. "Really, they said that?" He wouldn't put it past the twins.

"Well, Karou did come straight out and ask if I was marrying you for the money, but for the rest it was just an implication." Once again her mood shifted back to teasing, "It's rather sweet, really, I couldn't decide if they were trying to protect you from me or rescue me from you."

"Depending on whom you talked to it could be both," he admitted.

"You've avoided my question, though," she chided. "Why have you been playing the hermit?"

"I've been very busy with work the last few months," he evaded.

"So the fact that your disappearance occurred right after your best friend married a girl you've both known since high school had nothing to do with it?" she asked sharply. "There's just this saying about smoke, fire, and the proximity of the two that seems applicable."

He was sure he had Kaori to thank again for this. "I'm not sure what you are implying."

"You know exactly what I'm implying. Anything you want to share with the rest of the class?" She kept her tone flippant, but a blind man would have noticed the red warning lights and 'danger, minefield ahead' signs. Fortunately, he would be able to give her the absolute truth.

"I am not jealous of my best friend because he married Haruhi."

She paused, giving full consideration to his words before coming to some conclusion. "But you are jealous of him?" she inquired. He opened his mouth but she waived away any reply he might have made and smiled dismissively. "Never mind, as long as you aren't nursing some unrequited love, I'll let you keep your secrets."

Once again that calm indifference of hers provoked him and he stepped forward until he was nearly brushing up against her. Instead of retreating, Risa stood her ground and the space between them became charged with a subtle, almost electric tension. "Would it bother you? Me nursing an unrequited love?" he asked softly.

Risa averted her eyes for a minute; when they returned to his they contained faint surprise. "You know, I'm not really sure. Theoretically it shouldn't change anything but I'm glad you're not," she said hesitatingly.

Something compelled him to push her just a bit, "What about you, any smoke?"

"Not even a whiff," she replied with a coy smile. "Would it bother you if there was?"

Before he could reply, the conversation was diverted by a whirlwind in the form of a tall, blond man.

* * *

Tamaki was immensely pleased with himself. For two whole hours he'd resisted running up to Kyoya, grabbing him by the shoulders, and shouting "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?" in his face. Instead, he had taken Haruhi's advice and spent some time looking and listening. He'd observed Risa's eyes following Kyoya as he moved around the room, watched Kyoya's head turn to seek her out whenever she laughed, and seen the implacably cool former host drop his social mask for at least two minutes when talking with her. For the first time since Fuyumi had shattered his illusions that Kyoya might have finally met a woman he cared about Tamaki felt hope. He also felt that he'd waited long enough.

"Kyoya!" The bespectacled man rocked forward as the over-excitable host king slammed into his back. "Come see the new piano I bought." With a reluctant nod to Risa, Kyoya allowed himself to be dragged back into the gigantic living room and over to a white grand piano. Tamaki pushed him down onto the bench, sat down beside him, and began playing while excitedly babbling about how 'silvery' the treble sounded.

Kyoya only half-listened to his friend's enthusing on the merits of this piano over the five previous models he'd owned; he kept turning over Risa's last question in his mind. Would it matter if she were in love with someone else? There was no logical reason why it should, but he still found himself oddly pleased that she wasn't. It didn't make sense, he'd never felt the smallest twinge of jealousy with any previous relationships, but then he'd never planned to marry any of them. Perhaps that was it, Risa was going to be his wife – emphasis on _his –_ and Ootori's were notoriously possessive. The thought did not sit well with him, there was no benefit in acting the jealous lover over an arranged marriage and he would need to nip that emotion in the bud. Unwilling for once to continue his self-analysis he forced his attention back to Tamaki's ramblings.

"…So after the 4th of July party it'll be about time to celebrate the birth of Mori's daughter," the blond was saying, while idly playing a tune that covered the sounds of their voices. "Can you believe it? The Host Club will have its first very own little princess! Then I was thinking in August we could all go to a bon festival, what do you think Kyoto or Nagasaki?" The excited babble trailed off along with the music. Tamaki fixed him with those violet puppy-dog eyes and said. "I missed you, Mommy, nobody knows how to plan anything right without you."

Tamaki seemed fine, but too many people expressing concern had sown seeds of doubt. "You know I didn't intend for my sabbatical to hurt you, right?" Kyoya asked, seeking reassurance.

Tamaki turned back to the piano and resumed playing. "Hurt? Why would you think I'd be hurt?" He gave a Gallic shrug as if to indicate everything was in the past. "You were focused on some plan to force your father's hand. Dad's father-of-the-groom speech shocked me too."

"You have to admit, announcing his retirement and handing over control of the company to you was a significant wedding gift. And I was working on two plans, plus a backup and a contingency." Kyoya was tempted to let it lie, but he had promised Haruhi to make sure things were resolved. "I figured you understood what I was doing, but for the last two hours people kept saying…. Never mind, they gave me the impression you'd been growing mushrooms in the closet again."

"Maybe a little." Tamaki confessed. Truth was he had hated every minute of their separation and didn't quite understand what he might have done wrong. "I know I annoy you a lot, but would I really have been that much of a distraction?"

Kyoya paused, warring within himself whether to let the assumption stand, but fourteen years of friendship compelled him to admit the truth. "It wasn't that. I was jealous."

Tamaki looked puzzled. "I thought you stopped envying my life when you were fourteen. Didn't you want to become your father's heir entirely through merit?"

"I do, and I will," he said confidently. He paused a minute, looking for the right words, "It wasn't your life; it was that you've achieved so much of what you'd always wanted. All of you have, even the twins. Everyone has progressed towards their goals and I've just been treading water waiting for my father to die. He's never going to declare an heir; he enjoys the power of dangling it over our head too much."

Tamaki's hands on the keyboard stilled. "When did you get so bitter?" he asked quietly. "You used to love the game."

"When did you become easy-going?" Kyoya replied caustically, "You used to hatch elaborate plans to fix everyone's problems." He gave a resigned sigh, "Time moves on, we all change."

Impulsively, Tamaki threw his arms around the man next to him practically sobbing in empathy, "Kyoya, _mon frère,_ I can't believe I was so blind to your pain. No wonder you couldn't bear to be around me."

' _Well, maybe some of us change,'_ Kyoya thought amusedly. He allowed the embrace for as long as he could bear it before pushing Tamaki away. "Get off me. It wasn't about you, idiot," he said fondly. "Being around you reminded me of my failings and I just didn't want to end up hating you, any of you. That's all it was about." The glare and clipped voice that accompanied the confession was a clear warning that any admission of vulnerability was a one-time deal and these words were never to be spoken of again.

Tamaki put his hands back on the keys and began playing a sprightly Gershwin tune as he drew some conclusions. "But you're here now so, you must think you've made progress. Is this marriage part of the plan, the backup, or the contingency?"

"None of those, it's an unexpected opportunity. All my plans had the same fundamental flaw; they required me to besiege a fixed position. Yuuichi could harbor his strength and balk my strategies with little effort. Now my forces are outside of his control and able to attack on fronts he's not defended against."

"You know you get scary whenever you start paraphrasing Sun Tzu," said Tamaki half-jokingly.

Kyoya appeared not to hear and a self-satisfied and almost terrifying smile appeared on his face. "Ten years, Tamaki. In less than ten years my family will be begging me to bring what I've built to them and will pay whatever I ask."

Tamaki shuddered, Kyoya kept his ambition tightly leashed but when he allowed it to run free the effects could be devastating. His hands stilled once more. "And what about the cost to you, Kyoya?" he asked quietly. "Is taking over your family's company worth giving up on love? On a chance for happiness?"

"I'm not like you, I've never considered love necessary to either my happiness or to a good marriage."

"And does your future wife feel the same way?"

"Risa is willing to make personal sacrifices to achieve her goals. She wants fame, not the commonplace pop-idol kind, but the type of renown that has school children memorizing your name. An arranged marriage is a small price to pay for that." A note of pride underlay his assessment.

"Huh," said Tamaki with a stupid looking grin.

"What?"

"You find her interesting." The blond sang, playing a lilting tune on the piano to emphasize his words.

"I don't think I'd go that far." Kyoya said coolly, "She hasn't bored me yet," he conceded.

"I think you may even like her," Tamaki sang once more.

"Oh, don't start building elaborate fantasies, Tamaki." Kyoya said with a frustrated sigh. "This is nothing more than a business arrangement, a mutually beneficial partnership."

Tamaki just looked at him with a knowing grin before turning back to his instrumental. "You didn't answer my question. Kyoto or Nagasaki, which one has the better bon festival? Also, I insist on 4th of July. We need to give your princess a proper Host Club welcome. I'm so glad your back, Haruhi keeps shooting down my best ideas. She wouldn't even consider helping me plan a carnival themed baby shower for Mori. Do you think it's too late to find some elephants? And a tiger, we simply must have a tiger."

It started with a shaky exhale, and then a second. On the third the chuckle formed right in the center of his diaphragm and it escalated with each subsequent breath until it turned into a laugh full of relief and delight at just how effortlessly things could go back to normal. "Dumbass," he said still smiling and elbowed Tamaki in the ribs, "I won't have time for your idiocy, I've got a company to run." He waited through one full measure of the piano tune before stating, "No tigers, but I could probably get my hands on an elephant or two."

* * *

Haruhi headed back towards the living room after thanking the staff for their efforts. A part of her still missed when 'entertaining' meant a simple communal meal with friends gathered around the low table in her two-room apartment, but this was one of the things she'd accepted as part of falling in love with a Suoh. At least it made the clean-up easier.

Tamaki had drifted back towards the piano after seeing everyone off and was playing a tune she didn't recognize; it was solemn but contained hints of a secondary, more optimistic melody. He stopped playing when she approached and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his head against her abdomen.

"He doesn't love her," he said plaintively.

Haruhi ran her hands lightly through her husband's hair. "I know. She doesn't love him. He always told us this was how it would be for him."

"But he deserves so much better!" Tamaki wailed.

Haruhi disentangled herself and sat on the bench beside him. "Half the people we went to school with are in an arranged marriage of some sort and they aren't all miserable. Maybe it won't be so bad."

Tamaki's face lit up at the suggestion, "Of course! Arranged marriages turn into true love all the time! There's Victoria and Albert and…" His face fell. "…and I really can't think of anyone else." He returned to playing the mournfully hopeful tune. "I shouldn't have let him stay in America for so long."

"We both thought the distance from his family would be a good thing."

"It was supposed to broaden his horizons; instead it just made him more focused. As if being his father's heir is the only way to surpass his brothers!" Tamaki practically shouted, hands crashing on the keyboard with a discordant sound, "Everything he's done, even this marriage, all for some goal he became fixated on at fourteen."

"It's Kyoya, he doesn't distract easy," said Haruhi wryly. She took Tamaki's hand in hers and leaned against his shoulder. "At least, according to Fuyumi, this is his choice not his father's and he won't be working directly for his family anymore."

"That's true. And I think there's something between them, even if it's just physical attraction," his voice began to rise in excitement, "maybe all they need is something to fan that spark into a flame and they could fall in love!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes as Tamaki predictably ignored reality in favor of naïve optimism. Perhaps the couple could find a measure of happiness – if Risa could look beyond his façade to see the good person underneath; if Kyoya could let down his shields enough to let her into that small circle where he kept those he genuinely cared for – but the one thing the two didn't need was to be subjected to whatever scheme Tamaki was currently hatching. Thankfully, he had less of an attention span than Mori's two-year-old son and there was one surefire way to distract him. _'Okay, sempai, I guess I still owe you for managing him during the wedding. I'll throw myself on the grenade for you this time.'_ She reached out to take Tamaki's other hand in hers, turning him towards her. "Tamaki, there's something I should tell you," she said with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the conclusion of the beginning. Kyoya's feet are firmly planted in a new direction, now to start pushing these two towards each other and see if they can make crazy mad science together – plus there will be obstacles, intrigue, rivals, and maybe a bit of Tamaki/Haruhi fluff.
> 
> I did go off-canon on one detail; I've had Mori be the first host club member to have kids. It just seems to me he'd be the type to start early and have a horde whereas I thought Haruhi would want to be established in her career somewhat first.
> 
> Please R&R.


	8. The Late Night

Kyoya hesitated between the two reports, both drugs up for sale had their own merits but he waffled over which one to purchase. Perhaps he would benefit from a second opinion; his new business partner did have expertise in this area. 'Besides, it would be a good excuse to see her,' whispered a rogue thought.

He shook his head, the idea was ridiculous. He'd seen Risa in meetings every workday for the last week and a half. 'But it's not the same, is it?' the whisper objected, 'all buttoned-down and wearing her business persona. Neutral clothes, mousy braid, and a personality to match. No sly sarcasm or teasing wit or blunt honesty, and absolutely no hint of fire.'

A light tap sounded on the door to his office and he looked from behind his laptop to the slightly overweight middle-aged woman standing in the open doorway. After twelve hours of work her black suit was crisp and not a hair had escaped her chignon. She entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"Yes, Kimio-san?"

"Ootori-shacho, I've emailed you the full report of my investigation." She adjusted her glasses with the index finger and thumb of her right hand. "To summarize, I've identified eleven people ranked Section Chief or higher that are loyal to the outgoing president plus another six lower level employees who owe their jobs directly to his intervention. Fifteen members of the management staff are loyal to the Chairman and the rest are neutral for now."

He leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and nodded. Her talents had been wasted in the general affairs office at Ootori Group. Hiring her as his personal secretary was worth every penny of the exorbitant compensation package she'd extorted from him. "Your ability to tap into the gossip network never ceases to amaze me."

"If you want to know what's going on you simply need to befriend the older secretaries. We know where all the bodies are buried," she smiled smugly. "Ah, one more thing. I'm reasonably certain that Fukuda-san in accounting is a spy."

"He's a plant from the government. We won't take action for now; it's more useful to have him where we can keep an eye on him."

She gave him a return nod of admiration. "Is that all, then Shacho?"

"I don't need anything else from you tonight, Kimio-san." He looked at the clock, it was already after seven. "Please, don't feel the need to try and keep my hours. There will be enough times that I do require you to stay late that you shouldn't ignore opportunities to be with your family when you get them."

"It's no trouble; my daughter is at a friend's house tonight." She bowed. "I'll be leaving first"

"Good Work." Kyoya turned towards his computer to open her report and begin digging through the findings.

Kimio stopped in the open doorway and turned to face him before her exit. "Oh, I checked and Tsuchiba-sensei is still in the lab." With a final bow she headed off.

Had he really asked that question so frequently that she'd started anticipating it? He didn't know why, the answer was always the same. His eyes drifted from the computer back to the two reports on his desk. 'Well, why not?' the whisper enticed, 'shouldn't partners consult each other?' He shut the laptop with a snap and shoved it along with both reports into his briefcase.

The elevator opened on a long, narrow, basement corridor painted a depressing shade of beige. The fluorescent lights were dimmed for the evening and one fixture half way down the corridor kept flickering. Kyoya navigated a labyrinthine path past multiple identical doors to one with both card reader and keypad. His badge plus the daily pass code granted him entry to an empty room.

Only the hum of the DNA Sequencer gave any hint of life to the main workspace filled with stations, waist high benches and equipment. The light indicators by the doors which led to various clean rooms all flashed green - nobody was inside. Ahead of him, the large window to Risa's office showed an equally deserted view but he checked inside anyway. Her computer was still there, she must be around somewhere.

His hands trailed along the academic books and journals in multiple languages that occupied the bookshelves behind her desk. Print-outs of scientific papers were stacked upon one of the visitor chairs and teetered on the edge of her desk. Almost every available remaining surface was crammed with puzzle games, action figures, assorted DNA sculptures. Kyoya picked up what looked like a scale model of the lab built out of LEGOs, tiny yellow figures were holding off a pack of attacking zombies. One of the zombies had a business suit and a single black braid. He opened her desk drawers and found the usual things, except for one that contained a hoard of candy bars. Peeking into the trash bin revealed at least seven wrappers the janitorial staff had yet to clear away.

The only area left to explore lay behind the single door tucked away in the middle of the material storage units. The door that had conveniently not been included in the tour they'd given him last week. As he drew near, he could hear strange sounds emanating from behind it. He opened it quietly to keep from alerting the room's inhabitants to his presence.

He didn't need to bother; the sole denizen was too absorbed in shooting humanoid creatures in various stages of decay to hear the door opening and shutting behind her. The space must be a break room of sorts, but only the red lockers were standard issue. The glow from the TV lit the dark room, revealing areas carved out for eating and lounging. He recognized the self-assembled Swedish designed furniture from his college days. Walking softly, he crept up to the back of the sofa in front of the television and placed one hand to either side of its oblivious occupant.

"Working hard?"

Risa yelped then cursed in three languages when blood spatters hit the screen along with a giant 'game over' and laughing zombie head. She tilted her head back and greeted him with a wide smile. "I was having a good run, too!" she laughed, "What are you even doing here so late?"

"Checking on my Chief Researcher to find out if I'm working her too hard." She beamed and gave a delighted wiggle at his reference to her new title. The move emphasized the way her cream silk shell top clung to her breasts. He scanned downward over the black pencil skirt that was hiked to mid-thigh and lingered on the nylon-clad legs she'd stretched out onto the padded ottoman. Her shoeless feet were crossed at the ankle and ended in nails painted a bright red. He took an equal amount of time to bring his gaze back up to her face.

Risa flushed under his perusal. She pushed herself up to sitting position and tugged down the hem of her skirt. "Actually, right now I'm killing time before a meeting with some subcontractors in Boston. The earliest I can get them out of bed is seven."

He grabbed one of the wooden chairs from the dining area, placed it diagonally to the right of the sofa and turned it so the back faced her. He straddled the chair and crossed his arms over the back. "That's about two hours from now," he said with a pointed look at his watch, "Wouldn't it be more convenient to take the meeting at home?"

Risa looked down, fiddling with the controller in her hands. "Ojii-sama is visiting a friend in Kyoto and my uncle's taking the opportunity to spend the night with his mistress. It's just my cousin, Kei and I in the house."

At the meeting between their families, Risa's cousin had not made a favorable first impression. The ferrety-looking older man had repeatedly offered to help guide him around the world of pharmaceutical sales. 'So different from general medical care, don'cha know. All these regulations to keep track of. Just look to me if you need any assistance, young man.'

"Does he harass you?" He hadn't missed the way her cousin's eyes had followed her. He knew he hadn't misinterpreted the mixture of hatred and longing that filled them.

"Of course not, he's my cousin!" She shrugged. "He just, creeps around spying on what I'm doing and makes comments about my worthiness to inherit the company."

"He's only your cousin legally, and that doesn't always stop a man when he's alone with an attractive woman."

Risa shrugged off his warning, but a teasing light came into her eyes. "You realize you just implied you find me attractive," she said with an impish smile.

"Would it be a bad thing if I did?" he replied softly. His eyes once again traced the outline of her figure before meeting her gaze. She turned bright crimson and he chuckled, sometimes it was just too easy to unsettle her.

Risa hated how effortlessly the man could turn her from competent professional to blushing school girl. It just wasn't fair! She'd never had problems like this before. Did being engaged to him make her more susceptible? No, that was just too unscientific. Maybe he simply emitted a pheromone she responded to. 'Or maybe I'm just biologically programmed to find the way he wears a suit too damn sexy.' She gave her libido a firm shake and returned to the original subject. "Anyway, it's more secure to have the meeting in the lab."

"I wasn't aware of any subcontractors on Project Phoenix," he said in a deceptively idle tone.

Damn. Of course he would pick up on that. "Oh, this is a side project I'm working on." She waived her hand hoping he'd dismiss the topic. "We're trying to use nanobots to deliver variable doses of medication. Some friends of mine are working on the engineering portion of the problem."

"I see." Kyoya pursed his lips. He pulled out his ever-present black smart phone and quickly typed something before putting it away.

Risa's stomach dropped. Every time she'd seen him use that thing somebody ended up going through a lot of trouble. She guessed it was finally her turn. "What did you make a note about?"

"Nothing much," he said and gave a dismissing wave of his own. "I'm simply moving your lab's budget review meeting up to top priority. I gather there's more than one 'side project' going on without sufficient fiduciary oversight." The gleam in his eye suggested he knew exactly how well she'd receive that news. She'd been wrong, he might not be a cruel man but he did have a decidedly evil streak.

Risa shot him a mutinous glare. "Remember, you did promise me control over my research."

Kyoya suppressed a snort; when she was upset she looked like a tiny, angry squirrel. "To be precise, I promised you control over how your research was applied. Only a fool would give a scientist carte blanche to pursue whatever caught their fancy." A full day formal budget review with just the two of them was unexpectedly appealing; sparring with her would be exhilarating. "The nanotechnology project sounds intriguing. I'm sure if your other side projects are as potentially lucrative you'll have no problems."

Risa crossed her arms; he seemed just a tad too happy about the idea. She could think of a thousand other things she'd rather do than spend hours justifying every off-the-books project she had going. "I know damn well that my lab is running under budget. I think you're just enjoying striking fear and terror into the hearts of your section heads."

"With some of them that is an added benefit," he admitted. So far he'd confined his reviews to known allies of Risa's uncle. Two birds, one stone.

His bald confession made her laugh. "No wonder people are calling you Oni-shacho. Is it true you made Director Motoori cry when you did the Sales and Marketing review last week?"

"He really shouldn't have tried to pass off thousands of dollars spent at Soapland as a legitimate business expense. At least, not without better record keeping." He sounded more outraged over the poor documentation than the brothel visits.

She shivered when his eyes darkened; she could feel them flickering up and down her body like a caress. The corner of his mouth turned up in a slow seductive smile. "I promise, with you I'll be more gentle," he said. Risa's tongue darted out to wet suddenly dry lips. He was flirting with her, wasn't he? She mentally rolled her eyes, only he would try to seduce a woman with the promise of an in-depth financial review.

Kyoya stood and moved to return the chair to the table. The happy little flutter she'd felt when he'd entered started to fade. Threats of budget reviews aside, she didn't want to lose his company just yet. Being with him was, well… fun. She liked the people she worked with, but they were wary of befriending the boss's grand-daughter. It had been a long time since she could talk with someone freely. "Are you off for the night then?" she asked and hoped it didn't sound desperate.

Kyoya paused and sat back down, he'd been about to suggest they grab a bite to eat. Interesting… she didn't want him to leave. "For awhile," he said to play it out and see where she'd take it, "Things pick back up for me when the New York Stock Exchange opens."

"So, what do you do for fun while you're killing time?"

"Grab some dinner, swim for a bit, check up on important news I may have missed."

"I don't know what that is, but it's not having fun. You should grab a controller, shooting things is remarkably relaxing."

How much would she push to keep his company? "I think I'll pass, I should get going," he said as a test. He could still ask her out to dinner if she let him go.

Risa picked up the second controller and waggled it at him enticingly. "C'mon, all work and no play makes Kyoya an axe-wielding psychopath," she sang. When he still hesitated she threw in a dare. "Afraid of losing to a girl?"

Kyoya arched his eyebrow at her. "You're a thousand years too young to try and manipulate me with something that simplistic." He pushed his glasses up and threw back a dare of his own, "If you want to spend more time with me you should just ask."

Risa rolled her eyes and then put her palms together pleadingly. "Oh Kyoya-sama, won't you please do me the great honor of allowing me to beat your pompous ass at Zombie Defense Force?"

Impertinent chit; this was going to be fun. "Well, if it means that much to you."

He got up and draped his suit jacket over the back of the chair and removed his tie. Unbuttoning his shirt a little and rolling up the sleeves made him much more comfortable. Taking a seat next to her, he slipped off his shoes and dropped his feet on the ottoman.

"Don't worry, it's your first time; I'll be gentle," she said with a coy smile and handed him a controller.

A scant fifteen minutes later he recognized at least five of the seven languages she called him a son of a bitch in.

"How the hell did you do that?" she shouted, watching with disbelief as his avatar did a victory dance on the screen.

"It's not really that hard to pick up the basic strategy once you get the hang of the controls." He said suppressing a smile.

Risa looked at his carefully neutral expression with suspicion. "You're lying," she concluded, "That's your lying face. You've played this before!"

Kyoya sputtered a laugh at her outrage. "You should know better than to make conclusions based on assumptions. I've been friends with Hikaru and Kaoru for over a dozen years; did you really think I'd never played an FPS before? What kind of bubble did you think I grew up in?"

"An elitist Darwinian nightmare that was a cross between Battle Royale and Game of Thrones?" she said without missing a beat.

"Only my home life. Believe it or not, I've played video games, seen current movies, listened to popular music, and Tamaki even made me binge watch all five seasons of Game of Thrones last summer." He gave a mournful sigh, "It simply won't be the same now that Tywin Lannister is dead."

She turned towards him, propping her elbow on the back of the sofa and resting her head on her hand. "I should have known that was your favorite character." Her eyes glittered with amusement and laughter lurked behind her smile. "So tell me, do Ootoris always pay their debts?" Hair had pulled away from her braid, creating a soft halo around her face. The excitement of the match still showed in the flush on her cheeks and the way her chest rose and fell. It was simply too enticing.

Kyoya angled his body in her direction, matching her pose. The move brought him so his face was less than thirty centimeters from hers. "We're rather well known for not incurring any," he drawled quietly, "We prefer to be owed."

Risa had no idea how he managed to make that sentence sound seductively dangerous. His smoky grey eyes matched the promise in his tone and mesmerized her. "I bet you can't guess mine," she challenged in an equally low voice.

"Too easy. Your favorite is Melisandre." His voice lowered even further, practically purring.

"How did you know?" she whispered. She licked her lips nervously. How was it that you could carry on two completely different conversations at once?

"Biologically engineering humanoid assassins and resurrecting the dead? Seems like something you'd enjoy," he said with a small, genuine smile and her heart lurched.

"Hopefully you'll find both to be potentially lucrative side projects," she smiled back, her eyes drifting down to focus on his lips. For a long second it seemed that one of them might lean forward to close the gap between them. Her heart rate kept accelerating, over whelming her and she started to pull back.

Kyoya sensed her retreat and reached out, grabbing the braid that had been annoying him for days. Slowly he slid the tie off the end and began combing it out so loose waves fell around her face. He wrapped it once, twice around his hand and gently pulled her towards him. With his other hand, he removed his glasses, tossing them onto the ottoman.

"Kyo… Wha… what are you doing?" she asked breathlessly.

"Claiming my prize. You did make a bet," he murmured. His eyes stayed on her as she came closer, watching as hers fluttered shut and her lips softened and parted. He stopped when her lips were millimeters away, waiting to see if she'd take the next step. Risa's breath hitched and Kyoya's heart leaped in triumph when she moved forward to press her lips against his. He leaned back towards the sofa arm and pulled her with him.

Her hands spread against his chest as he allowed her to explore. It was the most unusual kiss he'd ever received. The way she concentrated all her attention on just his bottom lip could drive a man mad. She nibbled, sucked, and licked then repeated an action once or twice more whenever he responded. Was she experimenting on him? Risa's investigations ceased and she settled into a repetitive pattern that had him shuddering. From a kiss! The little scientist was going to be the death of him; he needed to end this now.

Kyoya's hold on the nape of her neck tightened as he took control of the kiss. A pleasant fog settled around the edge of her senses; when he took charge like this it made her muscles and willpower turn to Jello. Risa moaned as he deepened the kiss and stroked his other hand down along her back and began toying with the hem of her shell. Alarm bells went off in her head when she felt his fingers touch the bare skin of her lower back but she firmly told them to go away, she was having too much fun.

She shuddered when his fingers caressed her spine and the alarm screeched louder as his hand slowly moved higher. Wait a second! The fog slowly started to clear; she knew that sound - the alarm wasn't in her head! She pulled away and dove for her purse to grab her loudly clamoring cell phone. Kyoya sat up and put his glasses back on, looking at her curiously. She turned to him, eyes wide with fear as she turned off the sound. "It's... it's an alert. Someone's trying to break into the lab!"


	9. The Break-In

" _It's... it's an alert. Someone's trying to break into the lab!"_

The adrenaline rush surged Risa over the back of the sofa and half-way towards the door before a steel band clasped around her waist and jerked her off her feet. "Think for a minute," Kyoya hissed in her ear, "You have no idea who's out there, how many there are, or if they have weapons. Do you really want to meet them?"

Her heart beat against the walls of her chest like a caged bird flapping at the bars. He was right, there was no way out and she could feel panic closing around her like a vise. Kyoya turned her around, grasped her chin with his free hand and dragged her face up to meet his. "Risa, focus. You need to calm down so we can work together."

She could do this. If she just focused on the sound of his voice and on what he needed her to do then she could get through. Closing her eyes she gulped in as much air as she could and forced herself to exhale slowly.

 _One._ Shove the fear into a little box to deal with later.

Breathe.

 _Two._ Grab her composure and wrap it around like a shield.

Breathe.

 _Three._ Focus her mind entirely on the present. Her body relaxed against his and he loosened his grip. As long as there was something to focus on, to do, she could handle it. Reopening her eyes, she gave him a curt nod. "I'm fine now. What do you need me to do?"

The pleased smile he gave her felt like a badge of honor. "Grab the chair and lodge it under the doorknob." He said quietly, gesturing towards the dining area. "Then listen at the door at tell me if you hear anyone in the main lab."

He went to his coat and pulled the phone out of his pocket, thumbing the app setup just for this purpose. "Tachibana," he said without waiting for response or confirmation. "We have an attempted break-in at Lab One. Risa and I are inside the break room." The room was bathed in an unnatural quiet when he hit the mute button on the TV remote.

Risa listened carefully, but whoever they were they hadn't made it past the main door. Or they were being very, very quiet. Kyoya quirked his eyebrow in silent inquiry and she shook her head.

"I don't think they are inside yet." He told the person on the other end of the line and beckoned her to come join him. "Risa, who else is alerted in case of a break-in?" He held the phone out so the listener could hear her response.

"Only me and the security desk. It's a silent alarm that goes off if someone either uses an invalid badge or enters an invalid entry key three times."

The phone returned to his ear. "We need to assume the security desk is compromised; they should have seen or heard something and alerted you already… No… Agreed… I'll keep the line open until you get here." He lowered the phone but kept it at the ready in his hand.

"Take the other end of the sofa," he ordered her, "I want to use it to create a stronger barricade." Between them, they wrestled it down the room and wedged it between the door and the wall at an angle. Anyone trying to get in would find it difficult to open the door more than a foot.

Risa dusted off her hands and ran them down her skirt, smoothing it in place. "Now what?"

Kyoya took a seat on the sofa closest to the door. "Now we wait." He relaxed into the back of the couch and used one hand to scroll through his phone.

The minute her activity ceased Risa could feel the panic trying to break free of its box. The walls pressed in and she struggled to maintain slow, shallow breathing. Shadows flickered and danced on the wall as images danced on the room's only source of light and made everything seem even more confined. Waiting helplessly, though, that was the worst of it. The cold reached out across nine years and wrapped around her. Rubbing her palms briskly against her arms to drive away the chill in her bones, she began to pace.

This wasn't then. People knew where they were and would get her soon. She wasn't alone.

It didn't help.

Kyoya didn't know how much longer he could handle the pacing. It was practically a form of torture. Five steps across the floor, pivot turn on her right foot, five steps back, pivot turn with the left. Two steps of each pass brought her right within arm's reach and the scent of jasmine and vanilla trailed in her wake. It was so tempting to pull her into his lap and find a more entertaining way of distracting them both.

Instead, he concentrated on projecting a calm demeanor while inside he seethed. _Someone_ had betrayed them. _Someone_ had handed over information about the lab and its security to thieves. _Someone_ had caused that look of fear to appear in Risa's eyes.

He would find out who it was and destroy them.

His lips twisted into a frown as he read Tachibana's latest status report putting the team at the building entrance. This primal feeling of protectiveness was… unsettling. It was _not_ something one felt for a business partner. If he started expecting anything more than what they'd agreed to it would leave him vulnerable and exposed. Clear boundaries. That was what he needed to enforce. Reason must overrule testosterone.

Another waft of jasmine and vanilla reached his nose. He clenched his fist and focused all his attention on the small screen.

Risa drove the demons away by calculating. Average walking speed: five kilometers per hour. One thousand, three hundred and twenty steps per kilometer. Twentyish minutes for someone to arrive and the door to open. Current number of steps: two thousand, ninety eight. It formed a simple algorithm that kept her calm.

_Average speed * number of steps / three = freedom any minute now_

Sounds from the main lab stopped her mid-stride. Kyoya held up a hand to stop her from racing to the door and pulling away the barricades. He spoke a few quick words in his phone before pushing aside the sofa and chair to open the door of their prison. Risa's nose almost slammed into his back as she followed him out.

* * *

The Ootori private police force crawled over her lab like black ants at a picnic. They didn't belong. Not here. Not in her place. Sadly, she couldn't do much beyond glare at the intruders poking around her equipment. Kyoya had only allowed her to remain in the lab if she stayed perched on her stool next to him and out from underfoot. Waiting in the break room or her tiny office was out of the question. She rubbed at her arms, unable to keep the chills away.

"Kyoya-sama, we've finished a preliminary investigation. On entering, we found the guard at the desk knocked unconscious; he's being treated at the nearest Ootori hospital now." The tall, fair-haired man in the black suit standing next to her _would not shut up_! He'd been talking to Kyoya for at least ten minutes. She vaguely remembered him being introduced to her last week as Tachibana Seizaburo, the new head of company security. "I'll interview him personally as soon as he wakes up."

Kyoya took the tablet the man held out and scanned through the data. "Mmmm. Wada-san, I've met him. For now, consider him a potential suspect or collaborator." He handed the tablet back. "Although there is a very good chance he was sleeping at the time of the attack," he said sarcastically.

"Regarding the lab, we haven't found any signs of entry. The IT department reports that the badge was authorized but the intruders used an outdated pass code which triggered the alert. I'm sending two of my men now to check on the status of the badge holder and verify their alibi."

"Very good." Kyoya's fingers drummed an irritating beat on the counter as he mulled over the status report. "What are your initial conclusions?"

"We think the intruders had or cloned a badge but weren't aware of the new entry key protocols. They weren't prepared to break-in using other methods and most likely fled as soon as their plan failed. However, they knew enough about our procedures to disable the security cameras and wipe the recorded feeds for all outside, lobby, and basement cameras since seventeen-hundred onward."

"You suspect an inside job." It wasn't a question and Risa's blood ran even colder at the implications.

"We can't conclude anything yet, Kyoya-sama, but whoever it was certainly had inside information."

Risa watched one of the ants poking around her equipment and growled in the back of her throat. He just couldn't keep his hands off things. Things that didn't belong to him. His hands reached out towards the DNA Sequencer and she leaped off her stool with hand outstretched. "Don't touch that!"

Every eye in the room turned towards her and all conversations ceased. Risa stared at the floor and twisted her hands in the hem of her chemise. "It's… it's in the middle of processing." She bit her lip and hoisted herself back onto the stool, wishing she could float away somewhere and be warm. Maybe they could turn the air conditioning down.

"Please, don't let us interfere with your work." Kyoya smoothed over the silence that had fallen. "However, some of the experiments and rooms here are very delicate so check with Tachibana-san before touching anything."

"Yes sir!" chorused the black-clad guards before resuming their duties. Tachibana gave a long look at Risa then stepped forward to speak quietly in his master's ear. "Kyoya-sama, our investigation will take a number of hours. I most likely won't have a full report until tomorrow."

The message was clear, for now he and Risa were in the way. Especially Risa. Kyoya pulled out his phone and made some notes while finishing the debriefing. "I'll close down the lab through tomorrow for your investigation. After you've interviewed everyone with access to the lab get them new badges and entry codes. I'll expect regular updates and a full briefing at noon tomorrow. Contact me immediately if you need more resources, this is top priority."

"Yes sir!" Tachibana departed to give strict instructions to the squad on what areas were off limits. Now it was time to deal with his stubborn little Chief Researcher.

Kyoya turned to look down at her. Despite the suit jacket he'd draped around her she was hugging her arms and curled in on herself. Someone really would pay for the stress they had put her through. He reached out a hand to help her off the stool. "Come along, I'll send you home. Your glowering is scaring my battle-hardened SWAT team." Instead of a laugh, his only response was a slightly dazed stare.

She flinched as another squad member got too close to one of her precious machines. "Yes, that's probably a good idea," she said hollowly. Ignoring his hand she awkwardly jumped off the stool and wobbled off towards the door leaving her purse behind. Kyoya grabbed it and caught up with her, taking her by the elbow and steering her along the corridors and to the waiting town car.

The city blurred past him without registering. He kept shifting through the possibilities of who could be behind tonight's events. The actual perpetrators were most likely hired help; he was looking for the mastermind. Every potential candidate had motive; it would be the means and opportunity that narrowed the field. No matter how well they tried to hide, he would find the culprit. And then he would punish them for attacking what was his.

A soft, shuddering sound interrupted his plotting. He turned his head and saw Risa huddled and shivering violently against the opposite window.

"Risa, are you feeling alright?" He pressed the back of his hand to her forehead; it was cold and clammy but no sign of fever.

"I'm f-fine. I… I just n-need to g-get wa-warm."

Kyoya frowned, the air conditioning was off and, despite it being dark, the temperature outside was no less than twenty-two degrees. He tilted her head towards him and turned on the overhead light. She blinked against the glare, but her pupils remained dilated. He cursed himself for not recognizing the signs earlier. He hit the intercom for the driver. "Hotta, change of plans. Head to my apartment and summon the doctor on-call."

* * *

Hotta carried her up and helped settle her on the overstuffed white leather couch to wait for the doctor's visit. Kyoya'd wrapped her in an afghan, but her shaking only subsided at all when he sat next to her and put his arm around her.

Nestled up against his chest she felt incredibly fragile and vulnerable. The urge to protect her came back in force and he realized that he didn't want to let her go. He stayed next to her through the doctor's brief examination. Her hands clenched his shirt anytime he tried to leave.

"It appears to be a panic attack, as you suspected Ootori-sama," the doctor concluded. The man pulled up her medical history, which Kyoya had transferred into the Ootori medical system the day after their engagement, on his tablet. "I'd like to give her a sedative now and a prescription if she has difficulty over the next few days. I see she has no allergies, are there any other conditions I should be aware of?" he asked discreetly.

"A sedative should be fine, Sensei."

The doctor had both an injectable version and pills in his bag as standard issue - Yuuichi's wife was prone to bouts of hysteria. After giving Risa a shot he placed some pills in a vial and handed it to Kyoya along with a set of instructions. Hotta escorted the doctor out and Kyoya dismissed his guard for the night. The door locked behind them with a soft click. Silence wrapped around the two of them like a cocoon.

It was barely nine o'clock but he felt drained. It was relaxing to sit there gently stroking Risa's back as her shivering trickled off. Too relaxing. He decided that he no longer cared about setting boundaries. Somehow, he'd just have to convince her that they could be more than business partners. First, though, he needed to determine what that more _was._

"Feeling better?" he asked after a couple minutes.

Risa pulled away and stretched languidly. The movement popped her back and thrust out her chest. "I feel like the frequency with which the chlorine channel opens on my GABA receptors is increasing the concentration of CI-ions and hyperpolarizing the associated post-synaptic neurons."

"So, in layman's terms, you're feeling high," he replied while chocking back a laugh.

She looked straight at him, eyes glimmering with mischief. "As. A. Kite."

Tilting her head, she stared at him for a minute then suddenly reached out and snagged his glasses off his nose. She reached back and dangled them behind her back, daring him to come close and take them back.

"You have beautiful eyes." Risa rose to her knees beside him and began caressing her fingers along the side of his face. "Like drops of liquid mercury." Her fingers were as soft as silk as they traced along his cheekbone. "Have you ever touched it?"

"Mercury?" He raised his eyebrows at her. The gentle stroking of her fingers was both soothing and arousing. "I thought it was poisonous."

Her fingers moved back to his hairline and tickled down along his jaw. "It doesn't absorb through skin well in liquid form. It feels weird – cool even at room temperature and when you submerge your hand it pushes the blood all the way up your arm."

He struggled to keep his tone light and teasing. "Interesting. You find my eyes toxic, cold, and restricting."

She giggled. "But beautiful." Her hand curled towards him, cupping his face. Serious black eyes focused intently on his lips. "You should kiss me again."

His breath caught in the back of his throat while his mind overruled his body's desire to do just that. "And why do you want that, Risa?" he whispered.

Her shoulders gave a delicious little wiggle. "Because it makes me feel like baking soda and vinegar." Her fingers moved to caress along his bottom lip. "All tingling bubbles when you mix them together." The look of bewildered wonder on her face undermined every gentlemanly trait Tamaki had worked to instill in him.

God, he wanted to taste her. To push her down and plunder that sweet mouth until she writhed underneath him.

Leaning forward he reached around behind her waist. "I'd be happy to." He pulled her glasses from her hand, put them on and pushed them up the bridge of his nose with his finger. Armor back in place, he stood up and stepped out of her reach. " _If_ you make the request again when your post-synaptic neurons are a little less hyperpolarized."

"Spoilsport," she whined, flinging her body backwards to lie on the couch with arms stretched out above her head. The action flipped up the hem of her cream top to reveal a patch of soft, pale skin.

Sometimes he seriously questioned the merits of being a gentleman. "It's probably best for the both of us that I am," he said dryly.

Risa wrinkled her nose at that and sat back up. Her body and brain felt encased by happy, pink, fluffy clouds. Chemistry rocked.

Just enough rational thought existed to realize that it was late and she had work in the morning. "I should go home." She stood to reinforce the declaration but her feet tangled in the afghan and she tripped face first towards the glass coffee table.

Strong arms caught her and settled her back on the couch. "Don't be ridiculous, you are in no condition to walk anywhere. You'll stay here tonight." He turned and walked away towards the kitchen. "The doctor suggested you eat before you fall asleep, I'll get us some dinner."

Risa relaxed back against the sofa. There was no point in fighting him, he tended to get his way. Secretly, she admitted to herself that it felt good to have someone look after her. It had been a long time since anyone had.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble," she called out to his back.

"It's no trouble. Ensuring the well-being of valued employees is part of my job."

Even through the fluffy, drug-induced happiness she felt her heart drop and tears prickle behind her eyes. Silly of her to forget that all that their relationship was built on was business and anything else was simply physial... physi… well something fizzy at any rate. Expecting more would only leave her hurt.

While he clattered around the kitchen she took the time to check out the place he called home. The front room was an open space with the living, dining, and kitchen area flowing together effortlessly. The "L" shaped sofa dominated the area and faced a gas fireplace on one side and an outer wall made entirely of glass on the other. It coordinated perfectly with other pieces of furniture that looked equally uncomfortable. Everything was sleek, modern, and so minimalistic it bordered on Spartan.

The only color amidst the stark black and white landscape was from paintings dotted along the walls. They were also the most interesting thing about the room. Soft colors met flowing lines which gave the impression of movement and highlighted supple figures on the verge of entwining about each other. They felt graceful, sensual, and liberated and were clearly painted by the same artist.

"I'm afraid I don't have much non-alcoholic to drink," said Kyoya from the kitchen, "Just water and juice. I could make some tea?"

"Some juice would be good." Wasn't sugar supposed to be good for shock? She stood up; this time making sure the afghan was nowhere near her feet. After a last glance at the intriguing artwork she cautiously made her way over towards the shiny white dining table. Seriously, who could live in a place like this?

His back was turned to her as he pulled a can of juice from the fridge and set a glass on the counter. Like magic, the sound of it opening summoned a black cat who jumped up and nudged his hand as he poured.

"Even your cat is in monochrome," she giggled from behind him. He turned and glared at her for daring to move about without his assistance. She raised her eyebrows and smiled smugly, he needed to learn that he wouldn't always win.

A wave of dizziness washed over her and she casually dropped into one of the dining chairs before she fell over. Kyoya raised his eyebrow right back and smirked, letting her know she hadn't fooled him one bit. _Oni-shacho._

"This is Noel." He picked up the cat, which immediately turned in his arms and placed one paw to either side of his neck. "The color's a coincidence. The apartment came pre-furnished and I've never bothered replacing it. Only the pictures and the bed are mine."

Kyoya stopped scratching behind Noel's ear for a second and received a head butt and a muted 'mrrow' in admonishment. "Sorry for neglecting you, Noel-sama," he muttered sarcastically and resumed his task.

It was adorable. She should find a way to video tape it to use as leverage during the budget review. He'd find it hard to intimidate everyone once they'd seen a video of a cat licking his chin. Noel even got in a kiss at his nose before Kyoya put the pampered little prince down.

He dropped two plates on the highly polished table top then made a second trip back to the kitchen for her juice and his glass of red wine. "Gnocchi with mushrooms and a red wine reduction. I usually prefer spicier, but wasn't sure of your preferences."

The food smelled delicious and Risa suddenly realized she was starving. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.

"Rich, handsome, and he cooks too! You're like some hero from a clichéd romance novel."

He sipped his wine with an enigmatic smile. "I'm not often cast as the hero." Putting the glass down, he elegantly draped a cloth napkin over his lap before eating. "Sadly for your fantasies, I simply reheated one of the meals my housekeeper prepares for me."

Risa shook her head ruefully. Cloth napkins, glasses, and fully plated leftovers! She would have been happy eating out of the Tupperware.

"Who said I fantasized about the hero? They're all idealistic and stupid good," she said idly and took a bite. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she savored the rich taste. "I like a good anti-hero or villain. More complicated and interesting."

She paused for another steaming bite of deliciousness. "And usually sexier."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him stifle a chuckle and it pierced her heart. It hurt that he didn't trust her enough to let her see him laugh. He kept drawing her close and then stepping away. Even tonight he was taking care of as if they meant something to each other while insisting it was simply a duty. If he kept blurring the lines she'd start to depend on him. Then where would she be? Her thoughts trailed off as they continued to eat in silence.

Risa sat blinking at an empty plate wondering where all the food had gone. All she had were vague memories of something warm, filling, and tasty. Her eyes closed and she felt herself falling forward but managed to jerk back upright before hitting the table.

She grinned sheepishly at Kyoya. "Sorry, the meal was too good. I think I need to sleep." She eyed the hard as hell couch reluctantly and gestured towards it. "Do you have sheets and blankets for that?"

"Yes, but you'll be taking the bed." Kyoya rose and helped her out of the chair, she fell against him as she stood and blinked owlishly.

"I'm not evic… evictin' you from y're own bed!" She moved only a few steps towards the living room before tripping over her feet.

With an exasperated sigh he swept her up in a princess carry. "Don't be coy. You're smart enough to realize a gentleman doesn't let a lady sleep on the couch."

' _Well, if he's going to insist…_ ' Risa took the opportunity to snuggle against his chest. Nobody had ever held her like this. It felt strange and a bit precarious but also made her feel safer and more cherished than she had in too long to think about.

"I'd only have carried you in here anyway. It's best to pick your battles." He fumbled at a door which opened into a similarly black and white bedroom dominated by a giant king-size bed covered in a midnight blue duvet. He wasn't entirely gentle as he set her down and her spine jarred a little when her rear impacted with the bed. Kyoya stretched, cricking out his back.

Her eyes wandered curiously around the room. Paintings from the same artist as out front were in here as well. In these, though, the figures had closed the distances between them. They weren't in any way explicit but resonated with a feeling of passionate intimacy that made her blush.

Desperately, her eyes settled on a safer part of the wall, a collection of photographs featuring different groupings of the same seven people hanging above a long, black dresser opposite the bed. The figures wore wildly different outfits, but it was clear they were the same. Redhead, redhead, blonde, brown-haired, another blonde. It was fascinating. She wondered if any of them would object to providing a DNA sample. More importantly, would she be able to run them without Kyoya flagging it as an unnecessary expense? Sleep pulled at her brain and she decided to think about all this tomorrow.

Kyoya rustled through the dresser for something she could wear to sleep in. In the bottom drawer he found a crimson t-shirt emblazoned with the words "Harvard Swim Team" which looked like it would suit.

When he turned back to her, she had already lain down sideways with her cheek pillowed on her hand and legs curled up behind her. Sleep made her look even more vulnerable.

He lifted her up to pull the covers down and tuck them in around her. "Why d'you have to be so nice t'me?" she mumbled.

"That's not generally something people complain about." Lifting her head, he put a pillow under it.

"S'not fair. I'll mis…misunderstand. Takin' care of someone… s'kinda things friends do." There was a wistful, almost lonely quality to her complaint.

Friends who cared for you, not family. He understood how that felt. She'd been on her own since fourteen; she probably had as little experience of a family that cared for you when you felt weak as he did. Thinking about it, he couldn't recall any reference she'd mad to any friends locally. Were they all in America? How long had she been alone?

Words bypassed his brain and came straight out of his mouth. "Would it be so bad, thinking of me as a friend?"

"No'tha agreement. Don' wanna get hurt." She yawned widely and snuggled under the covers.

Friends. They protected and looked out for each other. They were the people you could let down your guard around. The more he thought about it the more he realized that this was the direction they had been heading all along. It would be mutually beneficial – she needed someone to look after her and he…

Well, he was sure there was some merit in it.

He placed the folded shirt on the nightstand and sat on the bed beside her, placing one hand to either side of her prone figure. "Risa, I'd be open to modifying the terms of our agreement," he said softly.

His only answer was a snuffling snore. Kyoya brushed her hair back with a smile, turned off the light, and went to go check-in with the American stock exchange.

Starting tomorrow, she'd just have to learn to start considering him a friend.


	10. The Engagement

"Baking soda and vinegar! Oh my God, Ris, you are such a nerd!" The pink haired girl on the left side of Risa's computer monitor threw herself backward on the bed in howls of laughter.

Risa chuckled to hide her embarrassment. She'd expected this, but that didn't mean she had to take it. "This from the girl who once asked a guy if he wanted to connect his dongle to her printer port!"

The girl sat back up and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but A) I'm a geek girl. B) We were at Red Hat so he thought it was cute and C) He did." Her expression turned dreamy at the memory. "Multiple times," she sighed.

"Multiple ports too, I'm sure," muttered Risa.

"Pooja! Did you hear that?" The girl's mouth opened wide in astonishment. "Our innocent baby sister made a sex joke!"

On the right side of the monitor the elegant Indian woman cuddling a chubby infant raised one manicured fingernail up to wipe away a fake tear. "I know, Amy," she sniffed, "I'm so proud! She's finally embracing her inner bad girl."

Risa covered her face with both hands in mortification. "I don't know why I tell you two anything."

"Because we love you and we'd just get it out of you anyway," replied Pooja.

"Yep. You can't lie worth shit." Amy brought her legs up and sat cross-legged on her bed. She braced her elbows on her knees, folded her hands and perched her chin on it with an eager expression on her face. "Now, tell us all about this _megane_ of yours."

Risa laughed. " _Megane?_ You've been hanging out with Viktor and Jakob too much." Dubbed 'the Otaku twins' the unrelated Russians had glomphed on to her out of Japanamania her freshman year. Their sunny personalities and general good-heartedness had let them stick around after she'd given similar Japanophile's the brush-off.

"Tell me about it!" Amy sighed, "Jakob got dumped by his latest boy toy and forced me to spend an entire weekend eating cookie dough ice cream and binge watching Shoujo anime."

"Where are they, anyway? Please don't tell me they're at another con – you three are supposed to be working on my nanobots!"

"Okay, I won't tell you." Amy shrugged. "Actually, it might be true. I think they're LARPing this weekend so I wouldn't expect any work from them until Tuesday."

Risa rubbed her temples, she loved those guys but their work ethic needed serious improvement. "I'm going to fly over there and strangle them."

"Talk shop on your own time," interrupted Pooja, "I have to put the little prince here down to bed soon and I want all the dirty details of your wild night of abandon first."

"It's Ris. At best the details will be mildly blemished," Amy said sarcastically.

"Oh, not for long." Pooja gave a seductively enigmatic smile and sighed. "That man has Dom written all over him."

"You think?" Amy's nose wrinkled. "In his picture he looked more like a Switch to me."

"Trust me, I'm a professional. Anyone who hides their eyes that much doesn't surrender control."

Risa bowed her head and rubbed her eyes with one hand. "I really don't want to know what you two are talking about, do I?"

Pooja smiled mischievously. "Don't worry, that man of yours will make sure you find out soon enough." She shook her head back and forth, shoulders shaking with mirth. "Baking soda and vinegar, indeed."

"I hate you both, you know." Risa glared back and forth between her two best friends.

"You love us and couldn't live without us," replied Amy confidently. "Back to my question. You've known him a month now. Does he treat you right or do I need to ask Dad to fuel up the jet so the boys and I can come over and kick his scrawny ass."

"Honestly, I'm surprised Ryan isn't already there," said Pooja.

"I guess even an Ebola outbreak in Liberia has a silver lining," Risa replied. Amy's brother had been in Africa for the last month and had to contain his concern to increasingly distressed emails. "I only staved off Uncle Hank by convincing him Kyoya was a childhood friend I'd fallen in love with. Amy, if either you or Ryan try and tell him or Aunt Mary any different…"

"Don't worry, secret's safe with us." Amy made a gesture that mimicked locking her lips. "The parental units will remain oblivious."

Pooja raised her son up and down in a bouncing motion. "That boy was always too overprotective of you."

"He just finally gave up on protecting the chastity of his slutty little sister and imprinted on Risa."

"Amy Wagner! I will not tolerate any form of slut shaming, even self-referential."

"Sorry Dr. Chaudhry." Amy rolled her eyes in mock contrition. "Back to what's important. What's your hot _megane,_ potentially-Dom, fiancée like?"

"He's… actually he's wonderful." The words rushed out. "Brilliant. So much better than I'd hoped for. He's already cut our budget by ten percent without having to lay off anyone and he's only reviewed half of the departments. It isn't arbitrary, either, he really listens and figures out what is and isn't working. He even increased budget in some areas while trimming the deadwood. I think half the employees are in awe of him already, and not just the female staff." She scratched her cheek and though of some of his flaws. "Of course, he does need to learn the field a little better. There were these two drugs he was thinking of buying that I had to talk him out of because…."

"We get it!" Amy cut her off with a disgruntled look. "He's a good company president, but what's he like as a man? What happened after you spent the night in his bed?"

"Ah…"

Amy shook her head in exasperation. "You ran and hid, didn't you?"

"Umm… not really?" They _did_ work together so it was impossible to _completely_ avoid him.

"Risa, I was your roommate for four years." Pooja fixed her with a no-nonsense stare. "I know your unresolved parental issues cause you to avoid conflict. Have you seen him at all since then?"

"Psychology is a B.S. science, Pooja," Risa muttered.

"Yep, she ran and hid like a little bitch," said Amy, nodding.

"No…" But it wasn't for lack of trying. He just kept seeking her out at work and then there had been all the social events he'd forced her to attend. "It's just we've been busy with work. We've gone out a couple times…" She'd made certain to keep their verbal exchanges to a bare minimum and never be alone with him.

"It's cognitive neuroscience, not psychology," admonished Pooja, "and you only doubt it when you don't like what I have to say. Risa, you may be marrying a company president but he's a man as well. You're going to have to find a way to deal with him."

"I… just don't want to make things more complicated."

"I know, honey, but 'husband' and 'wife' aren't roles you can fit into one of your neatly pre-defined relationship boxes. You two need to work out what they mean to you as you go. And you have to start by talking to him."

"Stop trying to therapize me, Pooja." Risa glared at her well-meaning best friend. Pooja thought her specialization in the cognitive science which underlay human sexual behavior gave her the right to interfere in everyone's relationships.

"Right now you're scared and worried he's going to reject whatever you offer. If it helps, think of it as a type of iterated prisoner's dilemma. The best long-term strategy is 'tit-for-tat with forgiveness.' You need to start off with treating him the way you want to be treated and see where it goes from there."

"In other words, woman up and jump his bones." Amy could always be depended on to lighten the mood when Pooja got too serious about one of their various hang-ups.

Risa made an over-exaggerated show of looking at her watch. "Oh, will you look at the time…"

Amy laughed. "Coward!"

"No, really – I do need to go get ready for this engagement thing. My future sister-in-law is taking me to a Spa before we go and get our _kimono_ on." It was only eleven in the morning and the formal engagement party started at six. Fuyumi had a whole afternoon planned.

"OK, call me tomorrow and there _better_ be dirty deets."

"Amy, can you give me a minute with Risa?" Pooja asked.

"Sure thing. Later Ris. Give the _megane_ a kiss for me. Somewhere naughty!" The smiling girl reached forward and her side of the screen went black.

"Pooja, I'll think about what you said. I promise." Risa said to forestall another pre-marriage counseling session.

"I'm more concerned about what happened that night," she replied. "You haven't had an attack like that since your father died. What triggered it? You glossed over the details."

"Sorry, it involves confidential stuff." Breaches in company security weren't something to be advertised, even to friends. "Don't worry, it wasn't random. Let's just say I ended up trapped somewhere."

"That's not normally enough to have you go into a full attack though."

"I… sorry, I can't really talk about it. No new triggers, just a piling on of old ones." Cold, trapped, dark, alone. All things that, alone or in combination, had the potential to cause a melt-down. Sometimes psychology did make a good point.

Pooja fixed her with a concerned 'big sister' stare. "I really wish you'd seek counseling. I could get the name of someone over there."

"And I'm sure if they're any good then they'd turn out to be an employee of my fiance's family." Risa didn't think the Ootori's believed patient confidentiality applied to them. "No, I'm okay handling it the way I always have."

The baby on Pooja's lap let out an outraged cry and bent backwards nearly in two. "Well, that is my cue to leave." She hesitated before reaching out to turn off the camera. "One last piece of advice and then I promise I'll keep my nose out unless you ask. Just remember that an arranged marriage can be the start of love if you remain open to it. Manoj and I are very, very happy and we only met a handful of times before our wedding."

Risa smiled. There was no way any of her friends would keep from trying to interfere with her life. She loved them for that. "Thanks, Pooja-nee. Love you!"

"Love you too."

Risa turned off the computer screen and went to prepare herself for the day ahead with a bittersweet smile. Talking with her friends only temporarily lifted her spirits. For the rest of the day she knew she'd feel more alone than ever.

* * *

She didn't want to go back into the ballroom. It was hot, overcrowded, and her tolerance for people telling her how lucky she was to marry that 'nice Ootori boy' had faded about fifteen well-meaning old ladies ago. After stepping out of the washroom, where she'd lingered as long as she could without someone asking unnecessary questions, she turned her steps towards the doors leading to a terrace. Just fifteen minutes of fresh air, she promised, and then she'd force herself to return and play the demure bride-to-be.

The cool summer night which greeted her as she stepped out onto the terraced balcony improved her mood immediately. With a contented sigh, she headed towards the glass railing but her steps faltered as she caught sight of a familiar figure leaning over it contemplatively with cigarette in hand. She almost turned back but that would just be trying to hide again. No more running, time to woman up.

"This isn't America, you are allowed to smoke in the ballroom," Risa teased as she walked forward to stand next to him.

Kyoya had seen her reflection in the glass when she entered but had waited to see if she'd continue avoiding him. She'd been acting jumpy and reserved around him for the last two weeks. Her obvious embarrassment over the night at his apartment was endearing. He'd carefully chosen a strategy that would allow her space, but not so much her skittishness would harden into outright discomfort. It looked like it was finally paying off. At her approach, he turned towards her and nodded a welcome. "How would it look, though, for a member of the family running Japan's largest hospital network to subject others to second-hand smoke."

Risa's hands reached out to clasp the railing and she closed her eyes and tilted her face up to the night sky. The moonlight gleamed off the silver ornaments in her hair and matching thread embellishing her red kimono. Her shoulders were practically up around her ears but she still looked more content than she had in the ballroom. Taking one last drag he stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it aside. Stepping behind her, he let his hands gently drift up to her shoulders and start massaging out the tension in them. She flinched for a second and then relaxed under his touch. "Tired?" he asked, although her body told him the answer.

"Mmm-hmm. I was about to find a janitor's closet and rustle up some strychnine. I don't know how you stand it. You looked so comfortable in there. Either you enjoy it or your mask is really, really good."

His hands maintained their rhythm as he stepped closer so his lips brushed her ear as he spoke. "It helps to think of it as a game." He felt her shiver as his breath caressed her ear. "Everyone in there has something I need – information, an alliance, an opportunity – my goal is to extract as much of it as I can before the evening ends."

He moved his thumbs in circles down her spine, letting his fingers trail along the side of her rib-cage. Risa's head dropped forward and she made delightful little moaning sounds of contentment. "You were prowling that ballroom like you owned it. Everyone kept calling you that 'nice Ootori boy.' How are they so blind? They're like hunters with no idea that the tiger is behind them, picking them off one by one."

Kyoya chuckled at her assessment. "I've been the 'third Ootori son' for years. The critical failing of most people is the inability to recognize when circumstances have changed."

Risa shrugged off his hands and turned around to face him. "You mean like ours have?" A hint of nervousness lay behind her eyes. "Something changed between us the night of the break-in didn't it? It's… honestly it's been unsettling. I'm not sure what to think."

A strand of hair had tugged free and was blowing in the light wind. Kyoya smoothed it back, tucking it behind one of the many pins keeping her elaborate hairstyle in place. "Perhaps that's the problem for both of us. We have to analyze everything too much, try to categorize everything precisely."

Risa smiled a little sadly and instinctively nuzzled against his hand. She couldn't tell if it was her fatigue or the intimacy of the summer night but for a change the truth came easily to her lips. "You don't fit any of my boxes, though. You aren't a colleague or a co-worker or anything else like that. I just don't know where to place you anymore."

Kyoya's eyes were warm and he gave her a soft smile that flipped her stomach like a pancake. "How about starting as friends? We'll have a lifetime to work out the rest of it." The words buried straight into the middle of the loneliness she'd kept neatly put away for over two years and blew it to pieces. Unconsciously, she began to sway towards him, seeking the warmth of a person who wasn't an image on a computer screen. Friends. She didn't know if she could trust the offer but her heart still leaped.

"Ootori-sama, Tsuchiba-sama," interrupted a young man standing at the doors to the balcony before she could reply. "You're needed back in the ballroom. Chairman Tsuchiba has collapsed."

"Ojii-sama!" Risa darted forward only to find her way blocked by Kyoya's body.

"Thank you," he called out to the young man over his shoulder. "We'll be there shortly." Kyoya gripped Risa's shoulders in both hands and looked grim. "Risa, you need to put your mask back on and lock it down tight." He eased his grip and began efficiently patting her hair in place and adjusting the folds of her kimono. "Don't let the sharks in there smell blood."

Risa nodded her understanding. The room was full of the movers and shakers of the Tokyo medical community and they would all be judging her as the heir to Sakura Pharmaceuticals. Whatever she did next could make or break the company. A few deep breaths and she was once again the dutiful Japanese granddaughter. "Don't worry. I won't let them see fear."

"Good girl." Kyoya smiled reassuringly. "Your grandfather is surrounded by the best doctors in Tokyo. I'll make sure they take good care of him." He stepped back and swept his eyes over her appearance impersonally before nodding in satisfaction. "What do you need from me?"

"Just…" Whatever happened, he had to look like she was fully in control. "Please don't leave me alone." Cold, trapped, dark, alone. She needed to avoid feeling any of that too strongly.

He picked up her hand and dropped a light kiss on the back. "I promise. I won't leave your side." Keeping his hand in hers, they headed back into the ballroom.

* * *

Risa stood on the edges of the frantic activity surrounding her grandfather and did her best to appear poised in the face of curious looks and overt stares. In the background she could see Fuyumi and Akito, with some help from Tamaki and his staff, thanking guests and diplomatically sending them off. However dysfunctional they might be, the Ootori's came together well in a crisis and everyone seemed to have their role. Yuuichi was crouched down by her grandfather, monitoring his vital signs and directing the EMTs and her future father-in-law had already left to handle things at the hospital.

True to his word, Kyoya didn't leave her side. Risa glanced down at the hand held loosely in his as a 'show of unification.' _'People need to see a united front between our families for reassurance,'_ he'd murmured when she'd suggested letting go on entering the ballroom. Whenever she gripped it tight, he'd squeeze back reassuringly and she suspected he'd let her pull away if she wanted. Such a liar. She could recognize an offer of comfort when she saw it.

He waited until the EMTs bundled Chairman Tsuchiba away on a stretcher before summoning Hotta to meet them out front. Throughout the tense car ride he tapped away industriously on his phone while she stared out the window. Over and over the same litany repeated in her heart. It was too soon. Too soon to lose the only real family she had left.

Her grandfather had never been the warm and indulgent type. He never let her forget that she was the eventual successor to the business he'd built with his own two hands and she needed to act accordingly. But, she knew he loved her and was proud of her. Nobody else had ever really been on her side. Not her mother, or her father, and certainly not her uncle and cousin. It was selfish, but she didn't want to let him go.

All too quickly they pulled up to the hospital entrance and she braced herself for whatever she'd find inside.

* * *

Loud voices assaulted her ears the minute they stepped out of the elevator into the ICU.

"I'm his son! You can't keep me from seeing him you cold-hearted bastard." Risa's uncle loomed over the Ootori Group Chairman, barely leashed violence tensing every muscle of his gorilla-like frame. The two men stood in the middle of the hallway surrounded by their respective entourages. Next to her uncle stood a small, ferret faced man she thought she recognized from the legal department. Further down the hallway, her cousin Kei chatted amicably with one of Sakura's board members.

"I apologize, Shigeru-san, but hospital policy states that only the patient or his next-of-kin can authorize visitors in this ward. His healthcare directive names his grand-daughter as being in charge," Chairman Ootori replied with implacable coolness. The two competent looking security guards standing behind him subtly reinforced who was in charge.

"You own the damn hospital, Yoshio, so cut the crap. I know exactly what you're up to."

Yoshio's eyes swept over the lawyer and the board member then returned to her uncle. "You accuse _me_ of playing games?" he drawled. Turning, he appeared to notice Risa and Kyoya for the first time. He stretched out both hands to her in a proprietary manner. "Risa-chan, I know this is a very distressing time for you. If there is anything I can do for you, daughter, please don't hesitate to ask."

Risa accepted his expression of sympathy warily. The chairman had always been polite to her, but never familiar. She glanced briefly at Kyoya who shook his head almost imperceptibly in warning. Now was not the time to ask questions. "Thank you, Chairman. Right now I would just like to hear from the doctor in charge of Ojii-sama's care and then see him."

"Of course." Yoshio led her to a private consultation room and introduced her to his Chief of Staff. The entire crowd of interested parties packed into the room behind her.

"I'm very sorry, Tsuchiba-sama, but the news is not good." The older man appeared unphased by the presence of his employer and kept his kindly manner focused solely on her. "His pancreatic cancer has progressed to the point where his body is shutting down. At this point, all we can do is make him comfortable. He is still conscious, but slightly disoriented and at some point soon he may slip into a coma."

"I see. Thank you, Sensei." Her voice sounded cold and tinny to her ears, as if coming from far away. She couldn't break down in front of her uncle and cousin, they'd seize on it as a sign of weakness. Kyoya slipped his hand back into hers and warmth bloomed in her chest. Risa squeezed his hand, confirming that he was there. "I'd like to see him now."

The doctor would only allow her five minutes to say a lifetime of words. Kyoya tactfully tried to separate at the door, but she tugged him along into the room with her. The man who'd overshadowed her entire life looked frail and lost amidst the forest of tubes and machines. Risa dropped Kyoya's hand and flew to her grandfather's side, lifting the old man's hand to her lips.

"Risa-chan," he wheezed through the oxygen mask, "I'm sorry. I hoped to hold on longer and give you more time."

"Don't worry about me. You need to rest." She stroked her thumb back and forth over the back of his hand.

He raised his left hand and stroked the side of her face. "Have I ever told you how much you remind me of my beloved Sakura? Not only are you her spitting image, you have her brains and her drive to change the world. She would be so proud of you."

"Ojii-sama…" she choked off the sob forming in the back of her throat.

Listen to me, granddaughter," he said gravely. "A lot of things will start happening very fast. Trust in the choices you've made." His eyes searched the room and landed on the other occupant. "Kyoya-kun, will you keep the promise you made me?"

Kyoya appeared to hesitate a moment before nodding curtly. "Yes, Chairman."

"Do what I ask or receive a dying man's curse," Her grandfather, the devout skeptic, replied with black humor. "Now, take her away and keep the vultures away from her until everything's resolved."

Risa hugged her grandfather, careful not to dislodge the equipment keeping him comfortable, until the doctor appeared at the doorway to let her know the precious time was up. Kyoya pulled her away gently by her right arm and back out to the overcrowded hallway. They'd barely stepped out of the room when her uncle barreled up to her.

"Niece," he barked, "I demand you let me see my father. " Kyoya stepped just slightly in front of her right shoulder which prevented the large man from approaching too close. "Ridiculous, giving a young girl like you power to deny his own son the right to see him."

"Oh, Risa-chan wouldn't keep you away," said Kei ingratiatingly from his post against the opposite wall, "She's not that cruel. Are you cuz?"

She resisted looking up at Kyoya for reassurance or support. The sharp-eyed board member was avidly taking in the scene, cataloging how she would handle this challenge to her authority. "Of course you should both have the chance to say your good-byes," she replied demurely. "But, he is weak and confused. I think it is best if you go one and a time." She looked sharply at the lawyer hanging behind her uncle and clutching his briefcase nervously. "And only family members." Something was going on and, whatever it was, preventing it meant keeping the lawyer and the board member away.

Her uncle's lips wrenched into a grim line at her pronouncement, but he couldn't argue against it. A glance full of unspoken words passed between him and Kei as he lumbered into the hospital room.

Kyoya guided Risa down the hallway and away from the milling crowd. "I need to go speak to my father for a minute and then I'll send you home. Tomorrow will be a long day," he said cryptically and moved to where Yoshio was holding court among his staff at the end of the corridor.

Risa allowed herself to slump just enough for her shoulders to brush the back of the wall. So many hidden currents in this narrow stretch of real estate. She'd always hated politics.

"I wouldn't depend too much on him, little cousin." Kei's round face stared down at her with a sneer belying his concern. He'd slipped up next to her when she wasn't paying attention. She kicked herself for letting her guard down. "Look at them." He nodded towards the two Ootori's engaged in a whispered exchange. "They're already planning how to cut and run now that they won't get everything they wanted."

Her tolerance for the games being played at her grandfather's death bed was approaching zero. "If you're trying to say something, just spit it out." Her hand rubbed at the headache forming behind her left temple.

Kei leaned one shoulder against the wall, angling his body over her. "This is why the board won't hand power to you, little cousin. You're too naive. All agreements between us and the Ootori's end with the old man's death."

"We've had the official engagement. Neither of us can back out of the deal now." The stress of the day took on a new level. She'd been preparing for months to lose her grandfather, but now Kei was implying all the plans he'd made for her were in jeopardy as well.

"Families like that can arrange things however they want without scandal touching _them_. When my father is Chairman and he makes me President the Ootori's will vanish in the wind."

She ran the various scenarios and outcomes, reluctant to admit he was right. Oh, they'd be polite about it, put on a display of regret, but without her grandfather to enforce the unwritten marriage contract which gave them some control over the company…

She'd be left on her own. Again.

Kei tilted her chin towards him with his fingers. "I know you and father don't see eye-to-eye about your research but I see the potential and I promise to fight for you, little cousin. Remember, in the end you can only rely on family." The fingers stroking along her jawline were oily and made her stomach clench. "Trust me, Risa-chan, I'll look after you."

"Kei-san, it is your turn to visit with your grandfather." Kyoya's cool voice startled him and he dropped his hand. Risa took advantage of the welcome interruption to step away from her cousin without creating a scene.

"Think about where your loyalties lie and who really has your best interests to heart," Kei said whispered in her ear before walking away. She shuddered involuntarily and tried to wrap the tattered remains of her composure around her. She needed to get out of there before the walls started to press in. Her grandfather lay dying and enemies surrounded her on all sides. She pressed her lips together tightly to keep the scream bubbling up inside of her from finding an outlet.

Kyoya took one look at her, grabbed her hand, and drug her in the opposite direction from the crowd towards an elevator requiring badge access. Inside, he sent the car all the way up and the doors opened on an empty helicopter pad. He stood quietly beside her and lit up a cigarette as she drew in deep breaths of fresh air to settle her ragged nerves.

"Better?" He asked after a few minutes.

A soothing wind whipped the edge of her kimono and pulled her hair from its coif. "Yes. I needed this, thank you."

He gave a small bow of acknowledgement and returned to studying the skyline.

"What is going on?" Since their arrival all she could sense were hidden agendas swirling around her. Everyone was playing a game but nobody had told her the rules. "My uncle had a lawyer and Miura-san from the board with him. Your father acted like he owned me. You made some promise to my grandfather I don't know about…"

Kyoya took a long drag of his cigarette and blew it out slowly. He looked at her out of the side of his eyes but didn't face her directly. "Politics. Your uncle is making a play for the chairmanship."

Risa turned that over along with what she'd experienced tonight. "He was hoping to present a new will naming him heir, wasn't he? That's why he had the lawyer and a witness, to either coerce my grandfather or fake it. But your father stopped him."

The cigarette fell from his hand and he stubbed it out with his shoe. "Father had his own reasons, though, so don't count on him as an ally. Your uncle has called an emergency meeting of the board first thing tomorrow morning. He'd hoped to present it as a fait accompli."

"Isn't it already a foregone conclusion? The board is too conservative not to appoint a family member to run the company." She'd tried so hard to escape this outcome but fate had other plans. Her shot at the dream had been brief but it had been sweet. "I'm sorry. I suppose this means we'll be breaking the engagement since I can't uphold my end of the agreement."

Kyoya's face was neutral and whatever hope she had that Kei was wrong vanished. For all his talk of friendship, he reverted quickly to the remoteness of their first encounter. Ootori blood will out. "My father did make that suggestion. He believes that within a year Sakura Pharmaceuticals will be close to bankrupt and you may be willing to consider a buyout. We'd only need you and one or two other major investors to agree."

She felt torn between collapsing in sobs and breaking things. All she'd ever been was a pawn in someone else's game.

Well… Screw. Them. All.

"I guess it's time to put myself up for auction, then." She resolutely squared her shoulders and looked into the distance. "Maybe I can get a company to throw in a lab in Boston so I can go home." Like Ebola outbreaks, even the loss of your dreams could have a silver lining.

Kyoya stepped in front of her, forcing her attention back to him. "There is one other option." He pulled a folded parchment out from an interior suit pocket and handed it to her. " _This_ is what I promised Chairman Tsuchiba should anything unexpected happen."

Risa unfolded it and stared at the completed marriage license in her hands. The information for the bride had been filled out in her grandfather's handwriting; the only thing missing was her and Kyoya's seals. She looked back up at him in shock. "You want to go through with it? As in, right now?"

He pushed up his glasses and the moonlight glinted off them, shielding his gaze. "Your assessment of the board is accurate. Most of the members are too conservative not to appoint a family member, _which_ our marriage would make me. With you as the majority shareholder it might be enough."

Risa ran over the board members in her head. The one downstairs was an ally of her uncle's. Yoshio and Okita, her grandfather's best friend since childhood, would be on Kyoya's side. That left three remaining, all extremely traditional. "You really think you can convince them?" Hope fluttered in her chest, beating it's wings against her reservations and attempting to soar.

"I have the support of three of them, not including you as your grandfather's representative. Your vote would be the deciding factor."

Her hands shook a bit and he plucked the document from her hands, returning it to his suit pocket. "But what if it doesn't work?" It was such a huge gamble for him. If it failed he'd have nothing and be saddled with a wife.

"Then I'll simply go back to work for the Ootori Group after marrying a brilliant woman who brings merit to my family." His smile was too enigmatic for her to discern how much of what he said was the truth. She wished the moon would go behind the clouds so she could see his eyes. "I'll no longer be a pawn in my father's matrimonial games so either way I profit."

It might have been the most calmly pragmatic marriage proposal in history. She should say no. It was too risky with too many variables to control for. When it failed, there would be nothing shared between them except a marriage in which neither of them benefited. There was no way he wouldn't come to hate and resent her, or her him. They'd both be better off going back to the lives they'd had just one short month ago. Sometimes you had to turn away from fantasy and take the wiser path.

"Oh what the hell," she laughed bleakly, "Let's get married."


	11. The Rubicon

Risa had never really imagined her wedding day.

Instead of dreaming about a handsome groom, her girlish fantasies featured the King of Sweden and the phrase 'Nobel Prize in Chemistry.' Shuffling her weight to keep her sensible black pumps from pinching her toes she reflected that if she ever _had_ dreamed about it, she was sure she would have pictured things like a gorgeous dress, an exotic location, a man who adored her and multitudes of friends and family smiling benevolently.

Standing in front of a steel and glass government building wearing her most conservative business suit while her groom-to-be stood a half-block away arguing with his best friend wouldn't have come up in her daydreams at all.

She stared resignedly at the two men fighting just out of earshot. Technically, she supposed it was more of a harangue. Kyoya simply stood there with his arms crossed looking increasing irritated while Tamaki gesticulated widely. If the blonde flapped his arms any harder he'd take off.

"He's trying to talk him out of this, isn't he." It wasn't really a question and she didn't expect the brown-haired woman standing next to her to answer. The statement was only a way to fill the uncomfortable silence that had stretched between them for the last ten minutes. Risa _wanted_ to get along with her fiancée-almost-husband's best friends but the constant feeling of being judged made it hard to warm up to them.

She checked her watch for the third time, hoping the man coming to open the Family Registry desk just for them would get here soon. It turned out that Ootori money and influence were enough to get some poor civil servant out of bed at six on a Sunday morning just to be sure her marriage was made one-hundred-percent official before the nine a.m. board meeting. She rolled back her shoulders to ease the tension already forming and sighed.

"Do you trust him?" asked Haruhi suddenly, startling Risa out of her thoughts.

It felt a bit like she was being led into a trap. "I'm not sure what you're asking," she replied guardedly.

Haruhi turned the direct gaze that made her a fearsome courtroom opponent entirely on Risa. "I'm not an expert, and god knows I gave Tamaki a hard time over the years, but it seems to me that the only thing that keeps a relationship from failing is trust." The older woman looked over at Kyoya with a slightly sad expression. "You need to decide if you trust him and if he can trust you."

The words reminded her of Kyoya's statement when they'd first started their partnership. She'd trusted him then and look how that turned out. Since then she'd learned that he was was arrogant, dictatorial, calculating, ruthless, and a very good liar. How could she possibly trust someone like that?

But…

Whenever it counted, he'd always let her make her own choices without pressure. It didn't matter that he constantly lied about why he did the things he did or downplayed them. He'd taken care of her when she needed it most, comforted her, protected her, and had kept every promise he'd made.

And right now he was the only person she believed was on her side.

"I suppose I do trust him," she replied with a wry smile of self-realization. "At least, as much as I trust anyone."

The brunette looked at her piercingly for a second then shrugged and headed down the block to the two men. She laid her hand on Tamaki's arm and spoke to him. He ran his hands through his hair, which only enhanced his typical rakish appearance, and relaxed his shoulders. Risa could practically see Kyoya's eyes rolling as he said something that made Tamaki agitated again, then the raven-haired man turned sharply on his heel and headed towards her. As he approached, a taxi pulled up and disgorged a rumpled looking man who yawned sleepily.

Trust him or not, it was too late to back out now.

* * *

"He may be the Chairman's adopted son, but Shigeru-san has nearly brought this company to bankruptcy." Okita, a close friend of her grandfather's since childhood, slapped his hand down on the table to emphasize his point. After an hour of debate with neither side budging both the room and its occupants were getting heated. "How much worse would it be with him in charge?"

"All due respect, but it is the Chairman who was most responsible for Sakura's financial difficulties." Her uncle's crony, Miura, replied smoothly. "Sadly, he was too caught up in visions of grandeur and over-invested in high risk technology." Risa did not miss the pointed look in her direction and gritted her teeth.

Things were not going well.

Initially, everything had gone to the plan Kyoya had outlined on the car ride to the emergency conference. First, they'd held off on announcing the marriage until right before the meeting began, preventing her uncle from having a chance to regroup. The look of shock on his face had been all the sweeter for the surprise. He'd blustered, but the board agreed that Kyoya should be considered a candidate.

Both men had a chance to present their case. Not expecting a challenge, her uncle was woefully unprepared while Kyoya had stayed up all night outlining a daring and meticulous plan to turn the company around. Personally, she had thought it was brilliant. Pity she seemed to be the only one.

It had all been downhill from there. As soon as the two candidates had been dismissed to the waiting area, Miura pounced. He proposed that Risa's vote be excluded due to conflict of interest. It had carried four to three.

Since then the debate had raged on with the sides deadlocked. In Kyoya's corner were the elder Ootori, Okita, and Ueda. The latter man typically sided with the more conservative voters and Risa had no idea how Kyoya had managed to persuade him. It was probably a bribe of some sort. Or blackmail.

On her uncle's side were Miura and the two oldest board members, both staunchly traditional men who believed in experience and 'paying your dues.' They wouldn't recognize innovation if they sat on it.

Throughout the meeting Risa kept her eyes lowered demurely to the table alternating between anger and despair.

Miura was still expounding on how her uncle would run the company and she reluctantly dragged her attention back to him. "We simply don't have the resources to be a cutting edge company," he proclaimed. "Shigeru-san will trim the budget for speculative research and use that plus the recent cash influx to restructure the company back to a traditional pharmaceutical firm."

The budget being cut for her department in the company she would technically own. She idly tried to determine whether that would count as irony.

"Gentlemen," Yoshio's voice cut sharply through the sycophantic spiel. "Might I remind you that the money you are so freely discussing came from the Ootori Group under certain _expectations_."

"You got your seven percent, Yoshio-kun, and a seat on the board," said one of the two elderly board members with a tang of resentment. The most the rest of them owned in the company was five percent. Then again, they hadn't paid as much for the privilege. "Besides, I'm sure we could arrange for your son to remain in his present role until he has a chance to prove himself."

Kyoya would hate that, she thought. He would be handed all the responsibility of the Presidency with no power to fulfill the role and his direct superior working to undermine him at every turn. It was worse than kicking him to the curb. A despairing laugh threatened to bubble up and ruin the image she was trying to project.

"That's a good compromise," said Ueda excitedly. For the last fifteen minutes Risa had sensed he was looking for an opportunity to switch sides and now he'd been handed one. "Age and experience at the helm will keep youthful impulses and idealism in check." The fearful glance he shot Yoshio made it clear that he hoped the move would also appease the Ootoris.

Miura jumped all over the idea before it could gain traction. "His wife has a majority share in the company and voting rights on the board. It wouldn't be right for the President to have more power than the Chairman. Stability is what we need and that would be had if the presidency goes to Kei-san."

It was all falling apart, but she didn't know how to change it. Her mind kept wandering down different outcomes for her future, each one worse than the last. The board was swaying towards half-measures and compromise that would satisfy nobody and leave her crippled. What she needed was a way to force them into a corner and make a clear choice.

' _Oh!'_

A seed of an idea took root and began to grow.

' _Oh, Lords of Kobol!'_

It was desperate, it was terrifying, it was a million to one chance… but million to one chances succeed nine times out of ten. She kept her head lowered to prevent anyone from seeing the smile she couldn't hold back.

_Like the old man says, 'Sometimes, ya' gotta roll the hard six.'_

She stood abruptly, shocking the men into silence. "Gentlemen, please excuse my interruption." She bowed low and gathered every ounce of her courage. "I did agree to abstain from voting, but I didn't give up the right to express an opinion. Before you make any decisions, please permit me to say the following…."

* * *

Risa stepped out of the double doors and closed them behind her, focusing on not letting her legs collapse from under her. The two men in the waiting area, one pacing with fists clenched behind his back and the other coolly leaning against the wall studying his cell phone, looked up at her expectantly but she shook her head. "They're still debating. They asked me to step out during the final deliberation."

Hoping her legs wouldn't tremble visibly she made her way towards the door. Kyoya stepped in front of and blocked her path, reaching his right arm across her body and wrapping his hand around her left bicep until she met his questioning eyes. "They excluded my vote," she said sotto voce. A brief flicker of disappointment crossed his face before he replaced it with his typical implacable façade.

She didn't tell him what she'd done. Everyone would find out soon enough one way or the other. "I'm going to go get some work done in the lab," she told him. The whole day had left her feeling more tightly wound than DNA around a clump of histones. If she stayed in this waiting room it would just get worse.

Kyoya could tell there was more to the story, but with Shigeru pacing the room like a feral animal it was not the time to ask. He nodded imperceptibly and released her. "I'll come find you after the decision." He saw her struggle to give him a reassuring smile before walking out the door.

He walked over to stare out the window, hiding his face from prying eyes. He refused to allow the frustration coursing within him to gain a foothold. As much as he'd tried to stack the odds in his favor it was a risky plan to begin with and there was no point in wasting energy on wallowing in regret. But…

' _Damn it!'_

He'd been so close! Six months of being acting President and he would have had the board members eating out of his hand. One week to prepare for this meeting and he'd have found enough material to blackmail all of them. Less than twelve hours to pull off a coup d'état had been a stretch, he conceded, even for him.

Now the only thing left to do was crawl back to the Ootori Group with his tail between his legs. The sour bile of defeat turned his stomach. Yuuichi and Akito would exult in his failure and never let him forget it. Family dinners would be hell, even more so than normal. Nobody could stick the knife in quite like a triumphant Ootori.

There was only one way to salvage his standing now. He would need to convince Risa to sell the company. She was a practical woman, he reasoned, and she would understand that some promises just couldn't be kept. At least their marriage would give her some protection. The thought did very little to soothe his conscience. Even if it couldn't be helped it felt like betrayal.

He stared into the distance until the doors opened yet again, this time spilling out board members chattering about their plans for the rest of the afternoon. The first man out of the room was his father, but Yoshio was never one to let either happiness or disappointment show and gave no hint to what had occurred. Of course, there was no telling which outcome his father would have preferred in the first place. Kyoya stood up a little straighter and hid everything firmly behind his 'public' face, steeling himself for the results.

"Gentlemen, we've reached a decision." The most senior and oldest of the board members, one he knew to be Shigeru's ally, had the privilege of announcing the vote. The pinched look on his face and sour expression caused an unexpected burst of hope to grow in Kyoya's chest. "After due deliberation, we have unanimously elected Ootori Kyoya as the next Chairman of Sakura Pharmaceuticals."

Only a lifetime of training kept the astonishment off his face as five board members converged around him to offer their congratulations. He murmured appropriately polite yet humble responses to their well-wishes while frantically sorting through every conceivable scenario. None led to this outcome.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Miura approach Risa's uncle and the two engaged in a fierce, whispered conference before Shigeru turned on his heel in a huff and stalked out the door. Miura hesitated for a minute staring after the now deposed president with indecision before shaking his head in disgust and resolutely moved over to join the crowd surrounding the new head of the company.

Nobody wanted to stay long and soon all the board members but one left, citing family or business reasons. Kyoya guessed at least half of them would be heading off to mistresses, golf, or other similar entertainments instead.

"Surprised?" asked Yoshio when they were alone.

"A bit. At most I expected four-to-two in favor. Unanimous was outside of my calculations."

"Interesting." Yoshio gave the barest hint of a surprised laugh. "So it really was all her gambit?"

His father was enjoying this far too much. Kyoya was operating on no sleep for over twenty-six hours and was unwilling to play the usual one-upmanship game that passed for familial bonding. "It pains me to admit it, Father, but I am at a loss as to what you are referring to."

Yoshio shook his head in remembered disbelief, a near microscopic smile tugging up the corner of his mouth. "It was quite remarkable. The board was trying to hammer out some compromise but your wife stopped it cold. She formally assigned the proxy vote for her shares and her seat on the board to whoever was elected chairman." The smile grew broad enough to crack Yoshio's granite visage. "Then she followed it up by declaring that if we didn't elect you unanimously we were 'fools lacking the vision needed to direct the company' and she would hand in her notice."

Kyoya could almost picture the fire in her eyes when she said it and the uproar it would have caused. "She forced the board to choose between her and her uncle." He clamped down on the laughter bubbling up within him. It was an absolutely brilliant move and something he never would have asked of her.

"They may be hide-bound and skeptical of anything new," Yoshio continued, "But they aren't stupid. They all know who the key to the future of this company is." He waved his hand dismissively. "After that, it was only a matter of convincing Miura-san that she wasn't bluffing."

"She wasn't," Kyoya replied confidently. When it came to things that mattered, Risa was incapable of anything other than sincerity.

"So I surmised. Horrible lying skills for an Ootori, even one by marriage." Yoshio looked at his watch and sighed. "I need to be going. Your mother has some art show she wants me to attend. She's found yet another bright young thing who's set to take the art world by storm." His mouth and nose turned up in a sneer. "Hopefully whatever monstrosity she wants me to buy this time won't be too costly."

It was a regular game his parents played. Every time his mother found out about another one of his father's affairs she had him purchase a piece created by her latest protégée. The cost was directly proportional to the magnitude of the indiscretion. Since his father's latest fling was with one of her friends the price tag would be hefty.

His father paused on his way out the door and looked back. "I was skeptical when you first convinced me this marriage was a good idea but I've change my mind. You made a good choice." With that he walked out the door, leaving his son alone.

"Yes. I did," Kyoya replied softly to his father's departing back.

* * *

Risa perched on a stool with her latest journal from the American Chemistry Society open before her on the counter. There was an interesting article on the dynamics of photoinduced charge transport in DNA she'd been waiting for a chance to read but, instead, she stared off at nothing while drumming her fingers on the table. The more time passed since her ultimatum the more doubt set in.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

The likelihood of _that_ serving as a good defense was roughly nil, she thought wryly. With her proxy, her uncle would have power to do whatever he wanted – restructure, sell, do nothing and let the company fully slip into bankruptcy...

Kyoya was going to be pissed. Even if it worked, he'd probably still be angry that she took the risk. Risa groaned and thunked her forehead against the counter. This was why she didn't want to handle the business side of things. Sometimes when she swung for the fences she'd get a home run, but most of the time…

The door slammed open against the wall and she jerked upright. Shigeru stood in the doorway, chest heaving as if he had run the whole way from the top floor down. She didn't know if he was angry because he'd lost or because he'd won but lost her research. Either way, Risa wanted to be on her feet when she faced him so she slid off her stool. Her left hand nervously clutched at the counter to brace herself.

He stalked over to her swinging his right arm towards her face. "You little bitch." Risa's head whip-lashed to the side as the sound of the slap reverberated off the walls. "How could you betray your own family like that?"

Eyes watering, she rubbed at the sting in her left cheek. "I take it my strategy worked, uncle?" The pain wasn't enough to keep the smile off her face, which only enraged her uncle further.

Shigeru reached behind her and twisted his hands in her chignon. Pins clattered on the floor and her long black locks tumbled down her back. He pulled hard and forced her head back as far as it would go, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Don't you know what you've done? How am I going to live now?"

Involuntary tears trickled down her face as he gripped her hair until it felt like it would come out. Risa closed her eyes tight against the spittle flying from his mouth. "I'm sure there will still be a place for you…" she said unconvincingly, hoping to soothe his temper.

"As what? Some desk-sitter middle manager?" He released his hand abruptly and pushed her away from him. Risa barely maintained her footing when she crashed against the stool. Her uncle turned and agitatedly paced the room, flinging his arms around in a way that made her fear for the delicate equipment surrounding them. "That won't be enough to pay my debts."

"What debts?" Risa scoffed. "Your food, your housing… _everything_ was taken care of by Ojii-sama."

"Stupid little girl." Another wild gesture had Risa cringing when his hand almost thudded into the centrifuge. "You have no idea what the real world is like. No idea what expenses there are for a man of my position!"

Too many years of being belittled, underestimated, and discounted rose up and choked off any sense of restraint. "You mean mistresses and gambling, uncle?" She sneered, "I am well aware of your proclivities in that area." He raised his hand to slap her again and she shut her eyes tight against the blow. As stupid as it was to provoke him the chance to finally tell him what she really thought was worth the hit. The anticipated strike never landed. Instead, she heard a sharp cry of pain that jolted her eyes open.

Her uncle was on his knees before her; right arm twisted behind his back as far as it would go and anchored in place by a tall, fair-haired man in a black suit. Pain lined her uncle's face and his whimpers sounded like the whine of a beaten dog. Behind them, the new Chairman stood in the open doorway radiating anger in every line of his body.

"I think that is _quite_ enough." Kyoya's voice chilled the room to subzero in an instant. "Tachibana, please escort the former president off the premises. _Personally_." The smile he gave sent chills down her spine.

"With pleasure, Kyoya-sama." The security chief roughly jerked Shigeru to his feet by the collar and pushed him out the door without releasing his grip.

In a few strides of his long legs Kyoya was standing in front of her. He gripped her chin between his finger and thumb and jerked her head to the side. "Are you alright?" Eyes as hard as flint glared at her cheek as if he'd been personally affronted.

Risa pulled out of his grasp and stepped back. "Please, it was just a slap. I'm made of sterner stuff."

As anticipated, he was pissed. While she didn't want a fight, she wasn't going to beg for forgiveness either. "Look, I'm sorry if what I did came as a surprise," she said while trying to keep her voice reasonable. "If I'd thought of it beforehand I would have discussed it with you"

The coldness coming off Kyoya in waves imperceptibly lessened and he sighed. Removing his glasses, he ran a hand over his face. "I'm not upset about what you did. It was an excellent strategy." The redness ringing his eyes reminded her of just how little sleep he'd had. Putting the glasses back on, he offered her a tight smile. "I didn't anticipate that your uncle would come down here. He should never have been in the position to hurt you."

Her lips twitched at his not-quite-apology for being unable to meet the impossibly high standard he set for himself. "I'm very disappointed in your lack of omniscience. You know, you aren't living up to your press."

The last of the dark aura surrounding him dissipated with a small chuckle. "The press release was supposed to say _nearly_ omniscient." The bemusement on his face faded and he studied her with serious eyes. "Why did you do it?"

"Oh." She chose the first explanation that he might believe. "Well… they we're equivocating and it looked like Ueda was about to fold, so…"

"Please," his gentle voice cut her off, "Don't lie. Why were you willing to give up everything for me?"

She wasn't sure how to explain it, even to herself. Too much listening to Pooja and Haruhi was probably to blame. "We really are partners now, aren't we? Two atoms with a covalent bond forming one molecule. At least, I think that's what that little piece of paper we filed this morning means. " Realizing how nerdy that sounded she rushed on to the conclusion. "I just… I just couldn't see how I could succeed if it meant you failed. "

The statement sat between them for a minute. When he didn't respond, embarrassment washed over her and she turned back to the convenient journal. The pages rustled as she flipped them with slightly more force than was necessary." Besides, it wasn't _everything._ There's always Boston and the nanotech project. I also have some truly revolutionary ideas about organ cloning…"

Kyoya knew his silence had made her feel awkward and he reached out his hand to cover hers, trapping the page beneath her fingers and interrupting her nervous babbling. No easy pleasantry, no polite phrase could capture what he wanted to say. If he opened his mouth, he'd reveal too much of himself. There were many who trusted him, but never to that extent. Nobody had so much faith in him that they'd put the thing they cared most about on the line to fight for him. It both humbled him and made him feel like he could level mountains with a wave of his hand.

Leaning forward, he used his other hand to turn her chin towards him. "Thank you," her murmured against her mouth before gently brushing his lips against hers in their first kiss as husband and wife. An electric jolt ran through his body and rocked him to his core. The brief touch of their lips lasted forever, wrapping him in something raw and intimate and unbelievably pure. He could feel her swaying towards him but for once he withdrew without deepening the kiss.

Stepping back, he turned away slightly and made a show of cleaning his glasses. He had only intended…

He wasn't quite sure _what_ he'd intended. He'd just wanted to let her know that, despite her protests, he understood exactly what she'd been willing to sacrifice. It wasn't even much of a kiss, just a brief brushing of lips too light to really be felt.

Why, then, did it make him feel the way he had at fourteen after he'd finally worked up the courage to kiss his first crush?

Shoving aside his confusion, he reached for the polite composure that was always at hand only to find it harder than usual to assume. Thankfully Risa, who was blushing and plaiting her fallen hair into that horrid braid, seemed equally befuddled and didn't notice anything wrong.

They should leave, he decided. She'd want to go back to the hospital and he needed at least a couple hours rest. Everything would be clearer after some sleep. He was fatigued, she was emotionally drained, and that was all there was too the almost communion-like feeling which had passed between them.

He hoped.


	12. The First Week

_**Sunday** _

"You bought a house!" Risa pressed her fingers tightly against her eyes. They'd only just finished wrapping up funeral arrangements with the help of the hospital's officious 'Family Liaison' when Kyoya had dropped _this_ bombshell on her.

"Who does that? Who just goes and buys a _house_ without consulting the other people who'll be living there?" Unable to stop the flow of words, Risa began pacing the waiting area. "Of all the dictatorial, high-handed, overbearing, arrogant…" With each new synonym her arm chopped through the air in emphasis. "…despotic, tyrannical…"

Kyoya closed his eyes and leant back against the wall waiting for her tirade to wind down. He was far too tired to deal with this. At her insistence, after dropping her off at the hospital, he'd gone home to catch-up on missed sleep.

"…imperious _,_ autocratic, pompous…"

But, he'd only managed four hours before the hospital called to let him know her grandfather had taken a turn for the worse and he'd come racing back. Shortly after he arrived the old man had slipped into a coma and passed away two hours later.

"…bossy _,_ presumptuous, _herrish_ …"

He frowned at that last one. If she started in on synonyms for 'fascist' in German they'd be here all night. Stepping forward, he dropped his arms to the side and kept his palms slightly upturned. Instinctively, he realized that dealing with an irate Risa was a bit like trying to soothe a wild animal – you needed to make sure you didn't look like a threat.

"Are you done?" His cool tone cut through and stopped her in the middle of ' _befehlerisch_ '.

Risa's steps faltered when her train of thought derailed. Somewhere around the word 'pretentious' which was a bit of stretch if she were being honest, her irritation had faded but by then there was too much momentum to stop. As soon as she had started in on him, she knew her reaction was overblown. They had to live _somewhere._ But in the last twenty-four hours her entire life had changed and this was one thing too far.

Thankfully, he took her silent gaping at him as the 'yes' she wouldn't say.

"I didn't _just_ buy a house." His voice was gentle but condescending. It made her feel like she was being an unreasonable child. Which, to be fair, she was. "It's one I've owned as investment property for some time and it happened to be in-between tenants. We need a place to live that can accommodate both our needs. My apartment only has the one bedroom and I didn't think you'd want to continue living with your uncle."

Risa grimaced. The house she and her grandfather had lived in had once belonged to his second wife and now belonged to her uncle. Living there wasn't an option, even if there weren't bad blood between them. She wouldn't be surprised to find her things had already been thrown out on the sidewalk.

"We don't have to live there any longer than you want to if you dislike it," he continued in that oh-so-reasonable tone that sorta made her want to hit him. "If you provide me with a list of your requirements, I'll have Kimio-san begin a search."

Kyoya stopped then and simply waited, letting her know the ball was now in her court. Risa huffed out her breath noisily and pursed her lips together tightly. "You realize that you won't always be able to defuse my unjustifiable anger with your rational arguments?"

He half-choked the way he always did when he tried to hide his laughter. Risa's lips curved up in a smile when he gave her a wordless look she was easily able to interpret. _'Yes,'_ it said, _'I will.'_

_**Monday** _

Kyoya leaned his hips against the breakfast counter and sipped some heavily caffeinated black tea while watching the sun's rays creep over the floor and up the wall of the large open family/dining/kitchen area in his new home.

He firmly believed that six in the morning was too early for anyone to have to get up even once, let alone on a consistent basis. A naïve person would think that running a company would give you the freedom to set your own hours, when in fact it was the opposite. He'd be up this early until the day he retired, he thought grumpily. Or died – with Ootori's the two were usually interchangeable.

His typical bad early-morning mood was somewhat tempered by the view. Of all his properties, he'd always liked this one the best. It was a contemporary design but definitively _not_ modern. Instead of stark monochrome and steel, it featured soft grays and reddish-brown stone offset with wood everywhere. Bamboo floors, unfinished boards accenting both interior and exterior walls in a horizontal pattern, even wide mahogany panels on the ceiling. It was simple. Refined. Elegant. And it relaxed him in a way the hospital-like starkness of his childhood home never did.

Risa stumbled out from the hallway leading to her bedroom, interrupting his thoughts. She'd been happy to cede him the upstairs master suite with attached office in exchange for all three downstairs bedrooms. In addition to using one as her private home office she had plans to turn the smallest into a gaming room. His lips twitched slightly, despite her protests she already seemed in love with the place.

He opened his mouth to greet her and was met with "Don't talk. Coffee." He watched as she groped her way over to the Keurig and seemed to operate it with her eyes closed. "Agreed," he replied in a matching growl. Thank god she wasn't a morning person. His one year of sharing an apartment with Tamaki nearly resulted in homicide.

He turned against the counter slightly and roamed his eyes over her back. There was no hint of the precise, stylish appearance he'd come to associate with her. Her hair had been pulled back into a messy pony-tail that fell in rough, disheveled waves betraying her half-Caucasian heritage. The oversized t-shirt she wore fell to mid-thigh and covered whatever she wore underneath. As she'd come down the hallway he'd just managed to read the wording on the front, but he didn't know who Darryl was or why there'd be rioting if he died. Perhaps it was a political statement?

Risa bent over to dig around in the cabinets for a mug. The shirt slipped forward, revealing that underneath she wore only a pair of blue boy-shorts with white polka-dots. That, plus her bare feet with bright red toenails made her look every inch the college student that, under other circumstances, she'd still be. His eye lingered on the view appreciatively and his body perked up in a way that had nothing to do with caffeine.

As soon as the Keurig finished brewing, she slammed the cup of coffee back in one long gulp then groggily started another. When the second cup was done, she took it and sleepily weaved back down the hallway mumbling something about 'shower.'

Thirty minutes later, they met in the foyer. Risa was once again dressed in a crisp blouse, pencil skirt, and work pumps with her hair in a tight, controlled braid. He couldn't help but notice the fatigue behind her eyes and the pale, waxy complexion underneath her light makeup. "You don't have to come. I can make the announcement on my own," he suggested.

Her wan smile that told him she knew the offer had been half-hearted. "No. The employees need to see me. It will help reinforce that my family is still at the helm."

"Alright. But after that you are going back home." She opened her mouth to protest and he cut her off. "I'm serious Risa, you need rest. If you set one foot in your lab I'll cut off your badge access for a week."

As they left he could hear her muttering "… _diktatorskiĭ, napyshchennyĭ…"_

Ah, she'd moved on to Russian.

_**Tuesday** _

' _Naega jeil jal naga. Naega jeil jal naga."_

The obnoxious strains of K-pop blasting down the hallway greeted Kyoya as he entered the door and informed him that his new bride was at home. He'd refused to allow her access to the lab again today and insisted she accompany the movers he'd hired to finish packing and delivering her things. A small security team had gone along as well in case her uncle or cousin tried anything. But, according to the report he'd received, neither were at home.

This time her insults had been in English. 'Sanctimonious baboon' had been his favorite.

He found her crouched down over boxes with her back to the door in the second bedroom, the one she was using as a home office. In addition to movers and security, he'd left her with the number of his interior decorator and instructions to use it to obtain whatever she needed. A part of him was vaguely surprised that she'd actually done as he asked.

Three of the walls were now lined floor-to-ceiling with both glass-enclosed and open bookshelves in a wood that matched the rest of the house. One of the far corners contained a simple gray desk and a matching credenza set against the bookshelf-less exterior wall. Above it hung one of his paintings which depicted two lovers sharing a meal while a trio of musicians played in the background.

The other side of the room contained two comfortable looking leather chairs with matching ottomans next to floor lights and side tables. They were positioned just close enough for two people to read together and converse. The rest of the exterior wall was left empty, highlighting the spectacular view of the traditional Japanese garden just beyond the French doors.

Risa still hadn't noticed his entry; she was too busy unpacking books and sorting them into stacks of three. "I'm home," he said just loud enough to be heard over the blaring music. He snorted when she shrieked and fell gracelessly on her backside as she tried to both stand and turn at the same time.

"I swear to god I'm going to put a bell on you if you keep sneaking up on me like that!" A long strand of hair had fallen from the sloppy bun on top of her head and she tried to blow it out of her face.

"I believe the proper greeting is 'welcome home," he snarked. He was becoming accustomed to her 'at home' style. This time she wore lime green bicycle shorts and a t-shirt with a bespectacled man pouring the contents of two lab flasks on himself. It read _'Screw lab safety, I want super powers!'_

She rolled her eyes and held out her hand imperiously for him to pull her to her feet. Without a word of thanks, she dusted off her palms then bent over to pick up one of the stacks of books and began shelving them in the glass-enclosed shelves against the far right wall near the desk. His ears rejoiced when she turned the music down.

Curious, Kyoya inspected the other glass-enclosed shelves which lined the interior wall. The books were almost all hardbacks and seemed to be arranged in some order known only to her. He recognized a few of the names (Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, Weir). Others, (Anderson, Reynolds, Niven) were unfamiliar. "Don't tell me I married an Otaku," he said bemusedly while trailing his fingers over the spine.

Risa looked up from the middle of unpacking another box. "I think of myself as an old-school hard sci-fi nerd."

Kyoya wandered over to the open shelves near the reading chairs. These were a mix of hardbacks, paperbacks, and even some graphic novels. These names (Grant, Brooks, Marion, Braillier) were entirely unfamiliar. Pulling out one at random he stared at a lurid pulp cover featuring a timid blonde clutching a muscular hero and the words 'Can YOU Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?' blazoned across it. "Hard sci-fi?" he drawled, holding out the book.

Risa laughed and shrugged it off. "Those are for fun. The biology in them is _hilarious."_

He smiled and replaced the book. "I have the same reaction to reading fiction set in utopias without viable economic systems."

"Not a Star Trek fan, then?"

Kyoya simply shuddered in response. Picking up another pile, Risa moved to the interior wall and started placing them on different shelves according to her own system. She was chewing her lower lip, a sure sign she had something on her mind. Knowing her, it wouldn't be long before it came out.

After placing the last book she turned to him. "I hope you realize that you run a biotech company now," she said seriously, "at least half the people who work for you are nerds, geeks, or otaku of some type. You probably shouldn't speak so dismissively about them."

He considered her words, mulling them over in his mind before bowing his head briefly in acknowledgement. This was a different field than he was used to and he'd seen the signs of it having its own culture. Only a fool would dismiss the advice of a native guide. Still, her reaction was a bit overblown. "This seems to be a sore subject with you."

"Only when someone says it like an insult," she shrugged, "Otherwise I wave my nerdom flag high." Deciding that her point had been made, she turned to grab another pile. "Besides, haven't you heard? As Felicia Day said, 'Now I'm the one that's cool."

"Felicia who?"

"For an educated man you can be woefully ignorant," she sighed.

Continuing his circuit around the room, Kyoya ended up at her desk. A single open box had been placed on it and he reached in, withdrawing a rectangular shape wrapped in cloth. "Be careful with that," she cried. He turned and saw her arms outstretched as if trying to grab the book from his hands. Noticing her position, she visibly forced herself to relax and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "That's my baby."

Interest piqued, he gently unwrapped the shroud to reveal a book nearly a century old with a blue and silver cover. "Brave New World?" Keeping his fingers covered by the cloth, he opened the cover while being careful not to crack the spine. "First edition, signed? Very impressive."

Risa moved up and took the book carefully from his hands, careful to only touch the cloth. "It took me three years to find one in this condition and someone willing to sell." She put the book back in its box like a mother settling a baby in a crib. "I was up against some British twit who collects interwar literature. He almost won the bid." Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Fortunately, the old man selling liked my legs."

Kyoya took that as an invitation to run his eyes over the anatomy in question. "They are quite magnificent."

He didn't think he'd ever get tired of the delightful way her cheeks would turn pink and her hands would fidget nervously whenever he teased her.

Turning to the shelves nearest the desk, he recognized a completely different set of authors. Bujold, Ishiguro (in Japanese), Crichton, King (but only 'The Stand'); he was beginning to see a pattern. "Are all of these signed?"

"Mm-hm. And first edition." She was once again back on the floor, un-boxing her extensive collection. "Except some of the Zombie ones."

He picked out a copy of 'A Civil Campaign' and realized this one was not only signed but personalized as well with a very nice note. "What's your holy grail?" he asked idly.

She looked up from her piles in confusion. "My what?"

"Every collector has one. What's the one thing you've always wanted to get your hands on?" Her eyes rolled up and to the right as she considered the question but he raised his hand to stop her before she could answer. "No. I think it would be more interesting to see if I can guess."

"Did you want to play twenty-questions?" she chuckled.

"No need. Your birthday isn't until March, so we'll just have to see if I'm right on Christmas."

Her only response was to smile and shake her head as she turned back to unpacking.

_**Thursday** _

Risa clutched the urn tightly to her chest as she walked through the door. The wake the previous evening and the funeral today had been hell. Too many people she hadn't known, or hadn't liked, all there just to see and be seen. All watching her for weakness or anything they could use to their advantage. Or just as fodder for the next cycle of gossip. The lack of attendance of her uncle and cousin had certainly provided that.

Five steps into the living room she stopped and looked around. Where the heck was she supposed to put this… this _thing?_ This box of burnt ash and bone that people kept telling her was her grandfather. Didn't they understand that, even if it had been him to begin with, the very act of burning transforms matter into something else?

Why did she even have to do this pointless ritual of bringing the urn home for forty-nine days? In modern Japan, most people went straight from the crematorium to the graveside. But oh no - not the Ootoris! And not because they were devout; it just wouldn't ' _do'_ to be seen skimping on any of the elaborate ceremonies that were due a family member after death. People might _talk._

Kyoya stepped around from behind her and pulled the urn out of her unresisting hands. Walking over to the front wall, he opened the doors to one of the cabinets built into the corner and placed the urn inside. As Risa came alongside she could see all the traditional trappings of a _Butsudan_ inside the utterly contemporary exterior. If it hadn't been opened, she would never have suspected it was anything more than a place to store DVDs.

"I wasn't aware we had this," she said, "I would have thought your family too modern." She noted that, while containing all the usual items – offering bowl, incense holder, statue of the Buddha – they all reflected the sleek, fashionable style she'd come to associate with Kyoya. Three pictures had already been placed inside - one of her father, one of her grandmother, and the last one of a young boy she didn't recognize.

"We are." Kyoya replied, lighting the incense. "But this house was furnished for tenants who might not be. Besides, there is something oddly comforting about observing simple traditions." He rang the bell, pressed his hands together and bowed his head. Risa's steadfast atheism wouldn't allow her to join him.

A short second later, he flipped the incense stick over to bury the burning end and moved to close the doors. Before he could, she reached out and picked up the picture of the young boy. "Who's this?" The boy, smiling broadly at the camera with unmitigated joy lighting up the eyes behind his thick glasses, appeared to be about ten years old. He had the broad round face and flat features typical of someone with Trisomy twenty-one.

Taking it from her hands, his eyes softened as he looked on it. "My older brother, Masaaki, the one between Fuyumi and me. He died of leukemia when I was six."

"I didn't know you had another brother."

Scowling slightly, he placed the picture back in the altar. "The rest of the family prefers it that way. He didn't live up to my father's standards." Risa knew that the wound cut deep if even he was unable to mask his bitterness. "He was the only brother I ever liked. Probably because even as a child I realized he wouldn't be a threat."

He was selling himself short. The love he must have felt for his missing brother showed in the way he looked at his picture. "Down syndrome?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.

Kyoya made a muffled grunt of acknowledgement. "Imagine the shame. If pre-natal testing had been available, I doubt my father would have allowed him to be born." He shook his head as if throwing off the memories and closed the doors. "Sometimes I think only Fuyumi and I even remember him as having existed."

"You know," Risa said gently, "the research we're working on might someday support a cure or at least a reduction in symptoms."

The light glinting off his glasses as he turned to face her didn't fully hide the sadness around the corner of his eyes. "I know," he said softly. "That fact was part of my considerations."

Risa reached out and grasped his hand. Knowing he would despise the gesture as an act of sympathy, she turned it into one of gratitude. "Thank you." He raised his eye brows at her in inquiry but didn't pull away. "For being there today. It would have been difficult to do it alone."

Kyoya squeezed her hand back, accepting both of the intentions she had behind the act. "Of course. We're partners." He could tell that all the formality and ritual involved with being the Chief Mourner had taken its toll on her. The lack of any other family members put all of the pressure directly on her shoulders. By the end, she was beginning to both look and walk like one of the zombies she was so fond of. Not once through the achingly long ceremonies had she dropped her mask.

She smiled softly and started to withdraw but he jerked her in. "Come here." The move knocked her off balance and she fell against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her loosely. "Go ahead and cry."

" _Batard autocratique_ ," she muttered while sobbing against his chest, "as if I'll start crying just because you commanded it."

Kyoya had never been comfortable with feminine tears. None of the women in his family would consider showing such weakness, even (or perhaps especially) to a family member. In high school, he'd passed the weepy ones off to Tamaki or Mori for comfort. Hell, even the twins had more patience for them than he did. Any female companion of his since then quickly found out that constant blubbering was the fastest way to be shown the door.

But…

But Risa was different. As they'd stood there in front of the Butsudan it had struck him that, in any way that counted, he was the only person she had. It was a first for him. He'd always done what he could to take care of those close to him – whether valued employee, or kohai, or friend – but every one of them had others in their life that were at least equally responsible for their well-being. Other people who would protect them and care for them if he failed.

For Risa, he was it. She had no friends in this country. She had no remaining family members that truly cared for her. The amount of power he had over her was almost terrifying. Holding her as she cried silent tears of grief it occurred to him that it would be very, very easy to destroy her.

He held her a little more tightly and hoped he wouldn't turn out to be that kind of man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that completes the second story arc (mental subtitle - from Strangers to Spouses). Coming up in the next arc – the return of the host club, Risa encounters two very different people from her past, and all sorts of skullduggery and corporate espionage will abound as both of their feelings towards each other grow.
> 
> Maybe.
> 
> Or they fight, get a divorce, and she moves back to America. Then Risa and Amy unwittingly unleash the Zombie apocalypse, nanotechnology version.


	13. The Prelude

The sound assaulted his ears the moment he walked in the door. Somewhere in the house, a cat was clearly being strangled.

" _I fell in to a burning ring of fire."_

Noel darted out from the utility room to greet him with a pained expression on his little face and a pathetic 'meow.' Kyoya leaned down to scratch him behind one ear and the kitty rewarded him by twining around his ankles, purring in delight. At least his beloved pet wasn't the source of the din.

" _I went down, down, down as the flames leapt higher."_

From the way the caterwauling bounced off the walls, he concluded that the source was in the kitchen. As he moved towards it from the entry area, his nostrils burned under the attack of a fierce, slightly smoky odor that made both his eyes and taste buds water.

" _And it burns, burns, burns."_

He stood in shock at the entrance to the great room. Risa, wearing an apron advertising 'Terminus Bar and Grill,' was at the breakfast counter chopping through an onion with disturbingly expert knife skills and singing at the top of her lungs. On the stove behind her a large stewpot steamed and he could hear a sizzling sound like bacon.

" _The ring of fire._ _The ring of fire."_

Everyone had always told him that you learned all sorts of secrets about a person once you began living with them. Since his only previous roommate had been Tamaki - who had fewer secrets than an unlocked safe - Kyoya'd never put that to the test until now. In one month, he'd made several discoveries about his new wife. Things like how she subsisted on coffee, chocolate bars, and half-eaten toast. That she could stay up until three a.m. playing computer games and still manage to work at least twelve hours the next day. And, now, he'd learned that her singing voice resembled that of a cat in heat.

Unable to contain himself, he half-collapsed against the wall in a bout of choked laughter. The sounds of his sputtering attracted her attention and Risa stuck her tongue out at him. If anything, her singing grew louder.

He'd also found out that he didn't intimidate her in the least.

"You're home early," he stated once he was able to get his amusement under control. Lately, she'd been staying in the lab until at least ten at night, only to come home and hide herself in her gaming room until the early hours of the morning.

"This needs to simmer for awhile so I had to get an early start."

"Trying to kill me off already?" he asked, gesturing towards the steaming stew pot.

Risa laughed brightly at his implication. "Oh, I think we both know that if I were going to poison you, you would never see it coming," She tossed a few ingredients in the blender. "Besides, poison in food or drink? Amateur!" She emphasized her point by hitting the puree button firmly.

The corner of his mouth turned up in a faint smile as she animatedly waltzed around the kitchen. "I thought you couldn't cook," he said when the whirring finished.

Risa moved to the stewpot and lifted out bits of seared beef with a slotted spoon then added another batch to the pot. "I said I wasn't the type of wife to meet you with dinner on the table. I never said I couldn't cook." Stirring the pot she turned back and began chopping up some strange looking pepper. "Besides, cooking is just chemistry. With a bit of applied physics."

"I should have known. I expect you're a fan of molecular gastronomy." He rolled his eyes and groaned. He'd never understood why people had to ruin perfectly good food like that.

Her eye lit up like a sparkler. "I only got to try it once, in New York, but it was incredible." Turning back to her tasks she enthused about the meal for a while, finishing with "…there's supposed to be a pretty good place here in Tokyo but I've never tried it." She took out another batch of beef, this time tossing in the onions and garlic instead. "Besides, it isn't any fun going to a place like that alone." The last was said so low he almost didn't catch it.

"So, what spurred your decision to make dinner this evening?"

"Oh, this isn't dinner. This is my contribution to the belated fourth-of-July-slash-housewarming _you_ insisted on having Sunday."

The former host club had understood why Risa's 'welcome party' would need to be postponed. But, now that a few more weeks had passed, Tamaki had somehow managed to invite everyone to their new place. For some reason, she was convinced that it was really all Kyoya's idea.

How on earth did she know that?

"You didn't have to do this. I've arranged for a fully catered American-style buffet." He'd even sent an email to her friend Amy asking about Risa's favorite dishes. Hopefully, some company and familiar food would lift her out of the funk she'd been in. If there was one thing his friends could be counted on, it was too pull even the most anti-social hermit out of their shell. Often kicking and screaming.

"I know, but that's all east-coast stuff." She made a dismissive wave of her hand. " _This_ is 'Mama Wagner's blue-ribbon-winning-three-day-chili.' It needs to refrigerate a couple days so I'm making it now. Real Tex-mex cuisine, the kind you just don't get here. Aunt Mary even had to Fed-ex me some of the ingredients."

Wagner. As in her friend the nanobot programmer? "I wasn't aware you had an aunt." He knew for certain she didn't, the dossier had listed her mother as an only child. Obviously, Amy was an even closer friend than he'd realized.

He caught a quick glance at a wistful expression as she turned her back to him and added some spices to the stewpot with deft movements. "More like an honorary aunt. My RA freshmen year took pity on the 'poor Japanese girl' and took me home to Texas on breaks. I ended up adopting the whole family."

She reached over and picked up the blender to add to the simmering concoction. "It may be two weeks late, but we're _still_ celebrating the fourth. It's like how you have to eat buckwheat noodles at New Year's or _takoyaki_ at a bon festival. For me, Fourth of July means chili, and alcohol, and a bunch of rednecks shooting beer bottles off the fence in the back forty." She turned and winked at him over her shoulder. "But I'm not sure even _you_ could arrange for the last part in downtown Tokyo."

"Not without changing a couple laws, a few city ordinances, and buying the property behind us." He gave a self-satisfied smile while her back was to him. This was the most energetic he'd seen her in weeks. The party had been a brilliant idea. "It would require _some_ effort to do that before the weekend."

She shook her head at him and 'tsk'd', but her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Slacker," she accused with a mock roll of her eyes. "I suppose I'll have to settle for chili and the real Mexican tequila Hika's bringing."

"Hika? When did you and Hikaru become so friendly?" Surely, the twinge of displeasure he felt at that revelation was merely because it was something he hadn't been aware of.

She shrugged and tossed the last of the ingredients sitting on the counter into the pot. "He's the only other 'Z.D.F.' junkie I know in this time zone."

He suddenly saw all those late night gaming sessions in a new light. Of all his friends, why couldn't she have bonded with Haruhi? Even Reiko or Kaori would have been better. He shook away the thought. Hikaru was a trustworthy... No. He was a decent... No. Hikaru was a good guy. Most of the time. Way down deep. If he and Risa were getting along then it's not like...

Some thoughts didn't need to be finished.

Kyoya shrugged his shoulders back, easing an ache right between his shoulder blades. It had been a long day and his body was beginning to cry out for its customary activity. Sensing she was absorbed in her work, he took his leave. "I usually work out about now. I'm going for a swim, if you don't mind."

Risa said something non-committal and waved at him over her shoulder. She was cooking with the same focus she had when working in the lab and he knew she had barely even heard him. No matter what she did, it was always with such an intense, single-minded focus. His lips tingled slightly as he remember the way she had so _thoroughly_ explored his lips the evening in the lab.

Maybe, he had left the physical side of their relationship alone for too long. But, she had been so vulnerable lately since her grandfather's death. So fragile. It felt too much like taking advantage. He wasn't a teenager, controlled by his hormones. Besides they'd have plenty of time. No need to rush.

He would just leave the heat off in the pool for today.

The background music on the stereo switched to a new track and he fled when she took up the tune, chuckling on his way up the stairs to his suite. Who knew it was possible to be even more tone-deaf than Haruhi?

" _Hear_ _that lonesome whippoorwill? He sounds too blue to fly."_

. . .

Fifteen minutes later, the chili was busy simmering away on the stove and could be left alone for a couple hours. Kyoya would probably tell her to leave the mess for the housekeeper, but a good chemist always cleans her station. The dishes, on the other hand...

Dumping the prep dishes in the sink, she pulled out a counter cloth and began wiping away the remains of vegetables and spices. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kyoya walk through the living room and out towards the patio dressed in a soft-cotton robe. The pool wasn't very big, just the length of the side of the house, but he'd installed some fancy machine so he could swim in place for hours.

It was pure coincidence (and nobody could prove otherwise) that she was looking up from cleaning the countertop when he shrugged the robe off his shoulders, revealing the body of a god and a skin-tight pair of swim trunks that showed _all_ of it.

Really, he might as well be naked.

Not that she was complaining.

Risa's mouth went dry and her breathing slowed as she caressed him with her eyes. Strong arms and shoulders, firm back, narrow hips, and oh my sweet Jamie-Bamber-in-a-towel you could bounce a quarter off that bu…

His physique was lean, wiry, and so well-defined it was like watching a walking anatomy book. Slowly, he reached his arms up over his head in a stretch that caused the muscles of his torso to ripple and flex under a layer of soft skin begging to be stroked.

The cloth sat unused in Risa's hand, dripping water onto the counter in a steady beat for the full five minutes it took for Kyoya to finish limbering up. Finally, he leaned down to turn on the swimming machine. As he turned sideways to slip into the water she couldn't help but notice his equally impressive stomach muscles. Especially not when she was squinting so hard.

She gave a quick glance at the clock. He'd swim for what – twenty, maybe thirty minutes? More than enough time to take a quick shower, put on something prettier than yoga pants and a t-shirt, and be out there in time to hand him a towel as he rose up out of the water.

Once thought of, she couldn't stop the image from filling her mind. The water would drip from his soft, silky hair and form rivulets down that beautiful chest to his abs. As he held his hand out for the towel, she'd look into eyes of liquid mercury and reach out with her other hand to trace the path of the water with her finger. Or better yet, with her tongue.

Next he'd… The cloth dropped from her hand, landing on the counter with a splat. When the _hell_ had her husband replaced the Hemsworth brothers in her fantasies?!

Her breathing quickened and her heart beat frantically for a different reason. This wasn't good. It was too real, too dangerous. At least with Hollywood actors there was no chance of acting on the impulse. She wasn't naïve, his kisses and suggestive comments made it clear that he'd be more than willing to accept whatever she offered. But what then? This… partnership?... friendship?... whatever it was they had was too new, too fragile to complicate it with sex.

Besides, she was starting to _like_ him – his absolute competence at practically everything, his subtle and snarky sense of humor, even how his eyes gleamed ruthlessly when his competitive streak kicked in. If she slept with him now, flushing her brain with oxytocin, it was a biochemical certainty that she would fall in love.

And he wouldn't.

Deciding discretion was definitely the better part of valor; Risa finished up the cleaning as quickly as possible and fled down the hall before she did something stupid. She didn't care what Amy and Pooja would say. Sometimes, the best course of action really _was_ to run and hide like a little bitch.


	14. The Game Changer

Friday morning, Risa hurried into the company lobby just after eleven thirty. She hadn't expected the nanotech project meeting she'd taken at home to run so late. Maybe they shouldn't have spent all that time debating what to code name it now that Kyoya had given it the official green light. Amy was arguing hard for 'Project Jensen' but the boys really wanted 'Project Harmony.' She shook her head. Sometimes her friends were just weird. Obviously the best choice was her suggestion, 'Project DBOD (Dust Bunnies of Doom).'

Figures that the one day in two years she comes in after nine the lobby would be packed with employees lured outside by the warm weather for an early lunch. Even Kyoya and his secretary were there, heading down the steps from the conference rooms on the mezzanine. Risa turned her head and pretended to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, hoping they were too involved in their discussion to see her. She could already hear the snarky comment.

The path to the basement was blocked by a growing crowd at the reception desk where a large foreigner was bellowing at a shell-shocked receptionist in horrendously accented Japanese. Behind him, other visitors were slowly inching their way backwards and pretending they didn't notice anything. Risa veered wide around the throng, praying nobody would try to get her involved.

When she was about halfway towards the door leading towards her lab, the foreigner said something in the slow, loud voice people used when trying to make themselves understood and swept his arm to the side in a broad gesture that encompassed the whole room and rotated him around to face her. Risa halted dead in her tracks, her mouth gaping open like a fish.

"Rissy!" The blonde giant covered the ground between them with a few long strides and picked her up with his arms around her waist.

"Ryan?" Risa threw her arms around his neck in return and hugged him tight. "Ryan! What are you doing here?" Her braid sliced through the air as Ryan spun her around and she couldn't stop laughing. The dead silence that fell over the lobby cut through her happiness. "Ryan, you idiot, put me down!" Still laughing, she beat him feebly around his shoulders. "You can't do this kind of thing here!"

With a quick squeeze that cut off her breath the giant deposited her back on her feet and shot her a sheepish grin. "Sorry, darlin'. Just too excited to see my girl again."

Risa covered her mouth with her hand and tried not to give into the tears of joy prickling behind her eyes. It was all she could do to keep from reaching out and hugging him again just to reassure herself that he was really there.

"Oh sweet merciful heavens, Onii-chan. I've missed you so much."

* * *

The second the stranger had charged towards his wife, Kyoya bolted down the stairs but stopped in his tracks when she started laughing and calling out the man's name. He stood at the base of the stairs adjusting the cuffs of his suit and trying to regain his composure.

What had he been thinking? The man looked to be both taller and more muscled than Mori. The proper response would have been to trust in his security team. His alert eyes hadn't failed to note which of them had promptly reached for weapons to defend against the possible threat and he made a mental note to have Tachibana commend them later.

Kyoya pressed his lips together in a grim line. She was making a scene – laughing and hugging another man in public. Obviously it was someone she knew from America. The stranger had that tell-tale swagger and way of filling up a room with his presence so typical of a race that thought they ran the world.

Around him, he noticed employees who had been frozen in shock beginning to de-thaw and scurry off, shooting him apprehensive looks. He forced a polite smile onto his face and tamped down on his irritation. There was no need to add to the gossip that would already be circulating. He would go over there and be cordial to the person who'd been manhandling his wife if it killed him.

Silently, he made his way towards them, taking the time to catalog and assess the interloper. The blonde was a veritable giant and the closer he got, the larger the man appeared. It was more than height and weight which reminded Kyoya of his silent friend, the American's eyes scanned the room with a watchfulness that belied his gregarious smile and he carried his weight lightly on the balls of his feet as if ready to spring into action at any minute.

Risa's eyes… they were looking at the man like a person in a desert looked at a glass of water.

He knew the minute she became aware of his presence behind her. She flinched slightly then straightened her back as if she had not just been hugging a stranger in front of the entire company. "Kyoya," she said while stepping slightly to the side in a silent invitation for him to join her. "This is my friend, Ryan Wagner." She spoke in the English she'd used since the man first appeared. "Ryan, this is Kyoya Ootori, my…. husband."

He recognized the surname instantly. Obviously he'd miscalculated believing Amy was the RA that Risa spoken so fondly of last night. Now he _had_ to play nice. At the very least, he couldn't kill Ryan or have him thrown in the Black Onion Squad secret prison. Instead, he stuck out his hand for a western greeting. "Mr. Wagner. A pleasure to meet one of my wife's _acquaintances."_

The Texan grabbed his hand and pumped it up and down, squeezing Kyoya's fingers in a vice grip. "Nice to meet ya' Mr. Atari. My sister loves those old school games."

Kyoya opened his mouth to return fire but was interrupted by an oblivious Risa. "Ryan, what on earth are you doing here?" It sounded like she was asking how Christmas managed to come early this year.

"Just thought I'd swing by and take my best girl out for lunch." Ryan's eyes twinkled and Risa giggled before striking out and landing a feeble punch on his shoulder. The large man pretended to flinch and rub away the pain.

"Goof. What are you doing in Japan? Aren't you supposed to be in Liberia saving humanity from Ebola? Wait, does Amy know?" Risa's eyes sparked with fire at the idea her best friend had kept this secret from her. "That little… she didn't say anything when I was on Skype with her."

"Relax, darlin'." Ryan held out his hands in a gentling motion. "Amy didn't know. I barely knew I was coming – we'd contained the outbreak and I'd just gotten back to Atlanta when they sent me off here to deal with some equine flu the boys at W.H.O. are all hot and bothered about."

"Ryan works for the CDC," Risa informed Kyoya, "He specializes in containing animal outbreaks and gets called in by organizations all over the world."

Kyoya nodded politely at the explanation, but he didn't buy it. The Ootori International Police Force had provided on-the-ground protection to the medical workers in Liberia and there had been much more to that situation than the public realized. Ryan going straight from there to visit his 'old friend,' a noted biochemist, in Japan was quite the coincidence.

Ootoris didn't believe in coincidences.

He caught Kimio's eyes and the older woman gave him the barest nod. She'd already started the background check on the all-too-conveniently-here Mr. Wagner.

"Does that mean you'll be in Japan for awhile?" Risa was asking when Kyoya returned his attention to the conversation. She was staring at the American with big, hopeful eyes.

Ryan grinned apologetically, "In Japan, yes. But not in Tokyo – your health ministry's flyin' me up north this afternoon."

"Oh." Risas's face fell. "I was hoping… we're having a housewarming Sunday and it would have been nice to have a friendly face. I made your mom's chili." Her voice lilted up as she tried to tempt him to stay.

Ryan tilted his head back and made a sound that was a cross between a groan and a laugh. "You don't play fair, honey. I've been eatin' nothin' but MREs and airplane food for three months. But I was only able to get enough time away from all the jibber-jabberin' for lunch."

"Lunch would be delightful," Kyoya replied for the both of them. "I can secure us a table anywhere you'd like. Would you prefer Japanese or American food?" He already had his cell phone out to inform one of the restaurants he used for entertaining clients that they would be coming.

"Oh," interjected Risa, "There's a _Yakinuku_ place near the train station. You'll love it, all the grilled meat you can eat."

"You know me so well, darlin'." Ryan spoke the words to Risa but his eyes didn't leave Kyoya's face. He looped his long arm around Risa's shoulder. "Lead on." Despite the audience, she didn't shrug it off.

Ryan dropped his arm when the stopped at the reception desk to grab a cowboy hat and a large gift bag before they headed out the door. Risa's eyes lit up at the sight of the bag, but she didn't say a word until they'd left the building.

"What's in the bag?" she lilted, skipping backwards down the street with her hands clasped behind her back.

"Well, _someone_ once told me that y'all give a lot a gifts over here…"

"A present?" She practically bounced up and down in her heels. "For me?"

"Who else do I know around here? You just have to wait a bit," Ryan teased, "I didn't smuggle this stuff through customs just to have you rip into it on the street."

Risa stumbled backwards when her heel caught in a crack and both men instinctively reached out to grab an arm and steady her. Silently, their eyes warred over her head but Ryan was the first to flinch and drop his hold. Kyoya's polite smile became a smirk and he turned to his wife, making an overly-proprietary show of confirming that she was okay.

His triumph, though, was short lived as the American struck back by commanding Risa's attention for the rest of the walk with conversation about their ex-classmates until they reached their destination.

The restaurant was barely larger than a hole in the wall, the type of place underpaid single salary men could grab a quick bite to eat. It was mostly empty when they arrived, but seemed to fill up quickly. A few thousand yen slipped to the hostess had assured them of a table towards the back where they'd have some privacy.

Pointing to the meat displayed in the refrigerated case when the waitress couldn't understand him, Ryan ordered almost every piece of beef and pork on the menu. Distrusting the quality, Kyoya settled for rice and an assortment of summer vegetables.

The minute the waitress left, Risa turned to Ryan. "Can I open my present now?"

"Still a little kid, huh?" he laughed and tousled her hair in a familiar gesture. "I remember how you and Amy used to sneak down every Christmas Eve like four-year-olds."

"Of course I did!" She shrugged. "It was the first time I'd ever had presents that weren't bought by one of my parent's secretaries."

Kyoya didn't know what was in the bag, but he was sure that he would be able to find some present to outshine whatever the yokel had brought. She hadn't been very impressed with his last one – an obligatory engagement ring given the day after the Omiai which didn't really suit her. It was too large and, due to her work with chemicals, she only wore it outside the lab and home. Obviously diamonds just weren't her thing. Next time he'd try rubies - she'd look beautiful with rubies arrayed around her neck.

Risa held out her hand imperiously, "Gimme!"

"Yes, ma'am." Ryan reached in and removed a wrapped box from it before handing her the brightly colored bag. "This part is really from Mom, she told me what to get."

Risa dove in, riffling through the tissue paper in a flurry of excitement and pulling out a huge orange bag. "Reese's peanut butter cups! I love your mother so much." Digging down further, she emerged with a set of rectangular boxes. If possible, she looked even more excited about the neon-colored animals peeking through the clear plastic covering than the bag of sugary peanut butter. "Shut the front door! Where'd you get Peeps so far after Easter?" She dropped the boxes on the table and gave him a quick side hug.

"I have my sources." Ryan's lips twitched with delight at her reaction.

"You bought out the store the day after didn't you? I can't believe you didn't finish them off already."

"They had a large amount of unsold inventory this year. And I _was_ in Africa savin' humanity."

Kyoya idly picked up one of the boxes and looked at the row of bright pink bunny rabbits arrayed within. He turned over the box to read an ingredient list that sounded like the contents of Risa's supply cabinet. "What is in these things?" he asked with barely concealed disgust.

"We aren't sure, but it's something that doesn't even dissolve in sulfuric acid." Risa turned to Ryan, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Remember when we decided to try phenol? Melted in minutes."

"Except for the eyes." Ryan replied solemnly. "Just that little puddle of yellow starin' up at us with them creepy eyes."

"We never did figure out how to dissolve those. I'm pretty sure that's what the carnauba wax is for."

"I don't think even Honey would eat these." Kyoya muttered in Japanese.

Risa snatched the box out of his hands. "Hey!" she replied in the same language, "You have your vice, Marlboro man, I have mine."

"Smokin's bad for you," intoned Ryan in English, "Haven't you read all them labels they put on the carton."

"Ryan understands Japanese perfectly." Risa explained to Kyoya, still speaking her native tongue. "He just _sounds_ illiterate because he _insists_ on trying to speak it with a Texan accent."

"Everythin' sounds better in a Texan accent, darlin'." Ryan held out the wrapped box. "Here, this one is from me."

Slightly fuming from having made yet another false assumption about the interloper, Kyoya watched as Risa once again ripped into a present given her by another man.

The second she lifted the lid of the cardboard box inside her demeanor changed from excitement to awe. She snatched a piece of tissue paper from the bag and used it to carefully pull out a book. Kyoya recognized the name of the author on the cover, an ex-astrophysicist whose bestselling debut novel had been turned into a blockbuster movie.

"I didn't even think this was out yet." Risa said with wonder.

Ryan smiled at her and Kyoya wondered if the man realized just how much of himself he gave away. The more than platonic fondness he held for Risa was clear in his eyes. "He has a lot of virology in it and needed a consultant. I gave him some advice in exchange for an advance reader copy."

She opened to the front piece and saw the personalized signature. "You. Are. My. Hero." Her star-struck eyes didn't leave the page until their food arrived.

After a quick demonstration from the waitress, Ryan commandeered the grill. Kyoya had to grudgingly admit that the man did seem to know his way around burning lumps of charcoal.

"So tell me about this flu," Risa commanded, her salt and pepper beef karubi sitting untouched in front of her. "It must be serious to call you out."

Ryan finished scarfing down some spicy pork intestine. "I've got some files if you'd like to take a look." He reached into his satchel and pulled out a manila folder.

"Of course I do!" Risa pounced on the file faster than she had the present. "Just don't tell the _Oni-kaicho_ that I work for that I did some consulting without getting paid." She looked over at Kyoya and winked.

"The _Oni-kaicho_ is willing to donate your services for free this time." He replied, polite social façade firmly in place. "It's always good to be owed a favor by the government."

For rest of the meal, Kyoya might as well have been a piece of furniture for all the attention they paid him. He picked at his vegetables and watched the two of them, heads almost together as they systematically dissected the threat to Japan's horse lovers. Risa seemed so… alive? No, that wasn't the right word. Complete. That was it. It was as if all the empty places inside her had been filled up.

After two months together, and one month sharing the same house, he'd believed that he'd been allowed to see the woman behind the masks. But he didn't know the person sitting there chattering happily about reservoirs and transmission vectors at all. For the first time she had no walls, no defenses up to guard her. She'd let Kyoya past the personas she wore at work and among strangers, but apparently he'd only been allowed to see the surface of who she really was.

His phone chimed and he pulled up the email from Kimio. Most of it was what he already knew or could guess – Ryan Wagner, age thirty, only son of Mary and Hank Wagner of Odessa, Texas. Undergraduate degree from MIT in biology and received a PhD in virology from Harvard four years ago. Immediately began work at the CDC. Expert in animal-to-human diseases. Six years…

Oh. Now _that_ was interesting. Kyoya tucked his phone away and studied the suddenly very intriguing Mr. Wagner.

Kimio really was worth every penny he paid her.

* * *

Risa looked at her watch and gave a depressed sigh. "I hate to say it, but I have to get back to the office for a meeting with our manufacturer."

"Hope everythin's okay with your project." Ryan drawled.

"Nice try," she giggled, "You know I can't tell you that. Not unless you're willing to finally accept my job offer." The last part came out jokingly, but a slight trace of hope lilted up the end of the sentence.

"Sorry, darlin'. When you finally unleash the zombie plague on us, someone has to be standing on the walls protecting the human race."

Risa leaned over and dropped a kiss on his cheek. "Superhero."

"Mad Scientist." The American grinned back at her warmly. "I'll call you when I get back to town. Maybe you can show me around this home of yours."

"It's a da…" Risa cut off the end of the word she'd been about to say and shot a slightly nervous glance at her husband. "It's a deal." She stood and looked at the two men, silently asking if they were joining her.

"I'd like to stick around and get to know this husband of yours, if he has the time." The words were casual, but the sharp look in the American's eyes was unmistakable. "He was a pretty quiet fella during lunch."

Kyoya nodded at him coolly. He and Ryan Wagner had a great deal to discuss. "I'm sure I could spare a few more minutes Mr. Wagner."

Risa's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, clearly uneasy but unable to say why. She placed her hand on Ryan's shoulder and leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Kyoya thought he heard the words 'play nice, Onii-chan.' With a sketchy bow and a goodbye she turned and walked out the door, gift bag swinging jauntily back and forth as she practically skipped away.

Kyoya watched as the American's eyes followed her out the door. Ryan didn't turn away until, thirty seconds after she left, a non-descript woman left the restaurant and casually headed in the same direction. The man smiled appreciatively and turned his attention back to his host. "One of yours?"

"Yes. I assume the American over there with his Japanese girlfriend is yours, _Captain_ Wagner."

"He's supposed to be my backup." Ryan shook his head and sighed. "These embassies are always givin' me marines barely outta high school that stick out like a sore thumb." He popped a bite sized piece of beef into his mouth using his fingers. "I'm impressed, though. Your people are every bit as good as I'd heard. My rank's not a secret, but that information isn't easily found – not at this time of day. By the way, the two men in cheap suits at the bar belong to your government."

"I'd noted them. Are they following you or me?"

"Me." He narrowed his eyes and reassessed his statement. "But probably both of us now."

Kyoya pushed his glasses up and fixed Ryan with his most intimidating stare. "So what are you really here for, Captain?"

"Just checking up on an old friend. Making sure she's safe. And happy."

"And how do your bosses at Army Intelligence feel about your interest in Risa?"

Ryan gave a disarming grin, not at all phased by the accusation. "Aw, shucks. I'm no good at this here cloak and dagger stuff. I think," he said switching instantly to perfectly accented Japanese, "it might be easiest if we continued this conversation without any more lies or games."

Kyoya's return smile could have cut glass. "Agreed. An equine flu is not a very convincing cover story. Our government is more than capable of handling what I know to be a very minor outbreak. Why did your superiors want you to contact my wife?"

"What makes you think she was the one they wanted me to contact?" The American looked unbearably smug as he dropped the next piece of information. "My instructions were to vet you."

Kyoya was convinced he'd managed to keep his surprise hidden. "For what reason?"

Ryan took his time re-positioning another piece of meat on the grill before answering. "I'm sure it wouldn't surprise you to know that several organizations have had Rissy on their radar for years now. At least since her Master's thesis was published, if not earlier."

"Have you been spying on her all this time?"

"I don't spy on my friends. Not even for my government." Ryan's growled outrage convinced Kyoya of his sincerity. The Texan took a sip of his soda and continued in a more measured tone. "As a friend, I've always kept an eye on her. Her marrying you was like sending up a signal flare. Everybody knows the Ootoris wouldn't be getting this closely involved if her research wasn't panning out. If she wasn't a whole lot closer than people had anticipated."

"I'll neither confirm nor deny anything." Kyoya took a sip of his own tea while turning over what to say next. "What interest would the American military have in Risa's research?"

Ryan looked almost disappointed at the question. "Oh, please, Ootori-san. Rissy may have all the naïve optimism of a pre-Hiroshima nuclear physicist but you and I know the realities of this world. You know as well as I do that…"

"Any technique that can be used to heal can also be used to harm." Kyoya finished for him. "Is this an offer of purchase?" he asked dryly.

"Of course not!" Ryan responded in mock indignation and placed his hand over his heart. "I work for the United States government. I'm sure doing something like that is against one of them laws the boys in Washington are so fond of passing." He chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, if we wanted it we'd simply get your government to do the dirty work for us."

Kyoya nodded his head curtly. It was, after all, how such things usually went.

Ryan dropped his voice just low enough that the numerous interested parties listening in couldn't hear. "There's been chatter on the ground and a lot of people seem very interested in what you are doing here. It's her work with genetically targeted viruses that's garnering the most attention. Imagine being able to drop a vial of something in a crowded room and only one person be affected. Or create a disease that will only kill off a group of people with a shared genetic marker. I know some boys in the Middle East who would simply love to do just that. My government may not want to purchase the tech, at least not publicly, but it is very much concerned that certain other parties, parties in this area of the world in fact, don't get their hands on it."

The genetically targeted part of Risa's research was still highly experimental and not part of the current clinical trials. It was also a closely guarded secret. The American was right about one thing, countries like Russia, China, and especially North Korea would be eager to get their hands on it. Risa was on the verge of ushering in a brand new world. Depending on how things played out, the name Ootori might someday rank up there with Pasteur. Or Oppenheimer.

Kyoya tilted his head back so the overhead light would reflect off his glasses and shield his eyes. "Are you here to deliver a warning or a threat?"

"I was asked to make sure you understand our position on certain governments or organizations becoming your customer." Ryan popped the last bit of grilled food into his mouth and impolitely gestured towards Kyoya with his chopsticks. "You, and your family, have got a certain… reputation. The conventional wisdom is that you don't do anything unless it benefits you and that worries my chain of command. Now me, I think there's a big difference between not doing something without benefit and being willing to do _anything_ for benefit."

The American was interrupted when the waitress came by to see if they wanted to order anything else. Kyoya was mildly shocked when the giant refrained himself from getting more food.

Ryan continued as soon as the woman left. "I've known Rissy since she was a kid. She's always had a hard time trusting people, at letting them get past those walls of hers. The few people she does let into her life, though, tend to be the good ones. I can't say as I'm fond of your reputation, Ootori-san. But, I trust her judgment. I'm hoping she's right about whatever she saw in you."

Before Kyoya could reply, Ryan stood and donned his hat. "Don't worry about the check," he said switching back to English, "your government's givin' me a very generous expense account." He tossed enough bills on the table to cover the meal. "That was the warnin', this here's the threat. Not everyone will be nice if you turn them down and some won't want to spend the money at all. I love Risa like a sister and if anythin' happens to that little girl, anythin' at all, there won't be a place on earth you can hide from me."

"You love her more than a sister, Mr. Wagner," Kyoya fired back, "Since we are being honest."

"That might be true, but…" Ryan gave a wistful smile. "Well, you can take the boy out of the church but you can't take the church out of the boy. My folks didn't raise me to go messin' up another man's marriage."

Left unsaid between them was what would happen should Kyoya mess up his marriage all on his own.

"I assure you that I am fully capable of protecting my wife." Kyoya smile was more intimidating than reassuring. "From all threats."

"Good. As long as we understand each other." Ryan took two steps towards the door before turning back. "Them government boys of yours will probably want to talk to you about our conversation. I'm real sorry 'bout that."

"Yes, I can see you're absolutely devastated," Kyoya snarked.

Ryan laughed and tipped his hat. "Pleasure meetin' ya, Mr. Atari." The American swept out the door as if he owned the city, a trail of observers sprinting after him, trying to keep up with his long strides.

One of the Japanese agents who'd been sitting at the bar stayed behind. As soon as his partner left, he headed towards Kyoya, reaching into his suit pocket to pull out identification. "Ootori-sama, may I ask you a few questions…" Kyoya gestured for the man to sit and donned his polite façade.

It really was a shame he couldn't just have the American killed.


	15. La Fiesta

"Oi! Here you go. One bottle of premium only-found-in-North-America tequila." Hikaru set down the bottle on the kitchen counter with a thud and plopped himself into a seat at the kitchen counter. "Now, where's that eight-alarm chili you've been telling me about."

" _Que alivio_! Kyoya only laid in beer and wine." Risa reached under the counter and pulled out two shot glasses. "You pour and I'll dish you up a bowl." While he opened the bottle and filled the glasses to the rim, she scooped some chili into a bowl and topped it with cheddar, cilantro, sour cream and avocado.

She'd set to work in the kitchen shortly before the guests were due to arrive. Kyoya had made noises about leaving everything to the 'highly efficient and expensive' catering staff but she ignored him. One of the things she had learned from staying at the Wagners' was how puttering around the kitchen was a great way to seem part of a gathering without actually having to socialize.

Risa set the chili before Hikaru and picked up her glass. She downed it in one gulp and motioned him to pour her another. He looked bemused as she rapidly finished it as well. " _Gracias_ ," she sighed, "Now I'm ready for this _fiesta_."

Hikaru shook his head and dipped his spoon into the chili. "I keep telling you, they aren't that bad." He took a bite and his face immediately turned bright red. He panted rapidly while frantically fanning his tongue with his hands. "Oh my God! I think I just stripped off the roof of my mouth! This is amazing!" He stopped fanning and eagerly dug in for more.

Risa smiled and started slicing up the cornbread she'd impulsively decided to make this morning. Seeing Ryan again had triggered a strong nostalgia for down-home Texas cooking. " _You're_ not that bad. Everyone else… well, as one of my friends would say they make me feel like a two-dollar whore at a church social."

Hikaru snorted then clutched his nose in both hands as tears poured down his face. "Gah! My noth! It'th burningk da linigk of my noth!"

Risa just managed to hand him some napkins before she collapsed onto the counter in a fit of giggles with her head buried in her arms.

"It only seems that way," Hikaru said when they'd both recovered, "because I'm the only one who doesn't care if Kyoya's ruining his life by marrying you."

Risa rolled her eyes. "Thanks. You are so sweet."

"You know what I mean." Hikaru pointed at her with his spoon. "He's a big boy; he can make his own decisions. Besides," Hikaru gave an over-exaggerated shudder, "he's effin' scary if you get in between him and what he wants."

She could only shake her head at the thought of Kyoya wanting her for any reason other than ambition. "So, where's your evil twin?" She asked, changing the subject.

"At the door. Talking to Kyoya."

"Of course he is," she muttered under her breath.

The doorbell rang and soon Haruhi emerged from the entry area. She called out a greeting before heading down the hallway towards the bathroom. Risa could make out the exuberantly loud voice of the brunette's husband coming from the front door.

A few seconds later, the other Hitachiin appeared and made his way towards the counter. He didn't greet her. Hikaru looked at him, a light of mischief in his eye. "Oi, Kaoru! You need to try some of this chili Risa made. It will make you breathe fire."

Kaoru shrugged sullenly. "I'll pass."

Hikaru reached out and pulled his brother roughly onto the stool next to him. "Risa, dish him up a bowl," he ordered. "Stop being a jerk, Kaoru. Even if Kyoya hadn't married her he was never going to go for you. That man is straighter than the stick stuck up his ass."

Risa felt her ears heat up and focused on dressing Kaoru's bowl and pretending she didn't just hear that.

"Hika! Why did you have to say that?" Kaoru whispered loudly.

"Because, little brother, you've been such an ass that she thinks _I'm_ the _good_ twin. You know how I hate that!"

Suppressing a laugh, Risa pushed the bowl over in front of Karou and looked at him from under her lashes. He was flushed all the way up to the tips of his ears. With a scowl at his brother, he took one bite and then gulped down the shot of tequila Hikaru had placed next to his hand. "Oh man, it burns all the way down my throat. This is incredible!" He looked at Risa and awkwardly mumbled something that might almost have been 'sorry.'

He ate a few more bites in silence and then sat back in his chair, scanning her up and down. "Very American looking today." He gestured towards her red lace tank dress accented with white jewelry and matching indoor sandals which showed off her blue toenails. She suspected it was his version of a peace offering.

"I'm half. What's your guys' excuse?" Hikaru was dressed in a red top with more snaps and zippers than fabric and wearing white joggers with an American flag pattern around one leg. Kaoru had layered red and white shirts and a matching scarf over a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. Everything they had on seemed to be sporting a stylized 'KH' logo somewhere.

"We live there," Kaoru replied. He tilted his head and eyed her outfit critically. "For someone who claims not to know anything about fashion, you wear a lot of name brands."

She plucked at the skirt of the Diane von Furstenberg dress. "I just wear whatever Mother's personal shopper sends me. It saves on the 'you're an embarrassment to me' lectures."

"Well," said Kaoru copying his brother's rude spoon pointing behavior, "that explains why you look like a New York socialite with a stick up your…"

Hikaru wrapped his twin's head with the back of his hand. "Be nice, Kao."

Kaoru rolled his eyes at Hikaru. "Is this some 'freaky Friday' personality switching thing?" He turned back to Risa and continued waving around his spoon to accentuate his point. "The clothes aren't bad, but you need to accessorize them different. And don't you have _any_ Hitachiin in your wardrobe?"

Risa shook her head. "No. I think my mother doesn't like yours for some reason." She shrugged. "Mother probably tried to seduce your dad or something."

That comment had both twins grabbing their noses and howling in pain. Risa turned her back to them to hide her smile.

They were still teary-eyed when Haruhi emerged from the hallway. Hikaru smiled and waved her over. "Haruhi, come have some tequila and a bite of Risa's chili. You don't mind spicy, right?" Kaoru poured her a shot while his brother spoke.

Haruhi looked faintly queasy at the thought but forced a polite smile onto her face. "I'll try just a bit of the chili, please Risa." Kaoru shoved the shot glass towards where Haruhi stood at the edge of the counter but she waved it off. "None for me today."

"Really? 'Cause you look like you need it," Hikaru replied. "I could fit _my_ wardrobe in the bags under your eyes."

Haruhi groaned, "Do you have any idea how many places Tamaki dragged me to so we'd have a big enough selection of 'commoner' fireworks for tonight? We could probably start our own stand with what he bought."

"Would you like some beer instead? Or wine?" Risa asked sympathetically.

Haruhi shook her head. "Just juice if you have it. Or water."

Both twins popped up in their seats like prairie dogs. Bounding out of their chairs they encircled the brunette, twining about her like the snakes on a caduceus. "Haruhi, not drinking alcohol?" inquired Hikaru.

"That's not like her, is it Hika?"

"No, Kao, especially if _tono's_ been getting on her nerves. " Hikaru trailed his hands around her waist. "Don't you think she's looking a little… plumper?"

Haruhi's face was a cross between irritation and apprehension. She clenched her hands together in fists. "You guys, quit it."

Kaoru acted like he was wearing a monocle and made a show of looking her up and down. "And I think her breasts are almost one full size bigger."

They pressed their palms together, caging her within their arms, and chorused "You're preg…"

Haruhi slapped a hand over each of their mouths. "Shut up! Tamaki has this whole elaborate announcement planned for next week. If you ruin it I'm going to have to put up with his pouting for a month."

The brothers exchanged wicked smiles. "But _tono_ is so much fun to torment," drawled Hikaru.

"If you say one word I swear I will burn any item of clothing you send me for the next five years."

The two devils exchanged a smirk then began stalking about her in a circle. "So what you are saying…" said one.

"Is that if we keep quiet…"

"We get to dress the baby…."

"However we want."

Coming together they clasped hands and kicked up a leg each. "Yay," they chorused, "we win!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes exasperatedly as the twins struck up a repetitive sing-song of 'we're gonna be uncles.'

"Quiet, he'll hear you," she snapped.

They obediently complied. For a minute. "AND you need to model my new line of maternity wear. Without whining." Kaoru bargained.

"You have a line of maternity wear?"

"Well I will NOW."

"Done." Hikaru opened his mouth to extract further concessions and she rounded on him with a glare. "I am seriously hormonal right now. You do NOT want to mess with me."

The brothers leapt back, hugging each other in fear. Kaoru buried his head in Hikaru's shoulder and the older twin patted the younger on the head. "So scary," they both sobbed and clung together tightly.

The doorbell rang yet again and within minutes the remaining invitees poured into the great room. Mori, one hand grasping his wife's elbow and the other holding a baby carrier, entered first. A small black-haired boy shot ahead of him and wrapped his arms around the twins' legs with an excited cry of "HikaKao-ji!"

The brothers each grasped a hand and swung him between for a second until he spotted Noel and chased off shouting "Kitty!" Mori settled his wife and baby daughter on the couch and then loped after his son, grabbing him before he could scar Noel for life.

Tamaki and Kyoya entered next. The blonde was bouncing alongside Risa's husband like an untrained puppy. Risa stifled a laugh at Kyoya's expression of benign exasperation. Bringing up the rear was Honey with a raven-haired woman Risa presumed was his wife now back from Europe. Despite the heat of the day, she was dressed in an elaborately ruffled purple and black dress which looked like it belonged on a Victorian china doll.

Reiko glided straight up to Haruhi and handed her a scroll bound with an elaborate black ribbon bow. "Haruhi-chan," she intoned solemnly. "I prepared a curse to protect you during your pregnancy. The runes I cast this morning said you would need it, but not to worry because your daughter will be born safe."

The entire group stopped and, with one motion, turned their eyes to the two women in stunned amazement. "Haru-chan! You're going to be a mommy!" Honey bounded over to her and twirled her around excitedly. Haruhi slapped a hand to her mouth and he stopped, apologizing with golf-ball sized tears in his eyes.

Tamaki's mouth gaped open and closed like a goldfish. "But… but… but…." He gave up and flung himself into a corner of the room where he sunk down into fetal position and rocked back and forth mumbling something about 'all planned' and 'scavenger hunt and everything.' Haruhi slapped her face into her palm and the twins collapsed over each other in peals of laughter.

"Tamaki," Kyoya uttered with a sigh, "if you are going to grow mushrooms please do it outside. The damp will ruin the bamboo flooring."

* * *

Kyoya relaxed back into the lounge chair with his beer and watched Mori and Honey tossing two-year-old Ryouta back and forth in the pool. In the back yard, the caterers were cleaning up the remains of the meal and setting out a few snacks before leaving. Risa had barely left the kitchen, but she had managed to carry on conversations with both the twins and Kaori and he hadn't seen that 'itching to poison someone' look on her face at all yet. He was just starting to congratulate himself on a successful event when a package dropped from the air into his lap.

"Here." Tamaki said from above him. The blonde took the seat next to him and raised his own beer in a salute. "It's what I _should_ have given you on your wedding day."

Kyoya set his drink aside and examined the carefully wrapped rectangle. "You mean instead of a twenty minute lecture on how I was destroying my chance for happiness?" With care, he began to undo the elaborately folded paper held together by a single piece of tape.

Tamaki had the grace to look ashamed and a light blush stained his cheeks. "Yeah. Sorry about that." He settled back into the chair. "Haruhi was pretty upset with me."

Kyoya's lips curved up slightly at his friend's discomfort. His expression turned to confusion when he finished opening his gift and found a book in English. "What's this?"

"It's… I guess you could say it's a new husband's manual. It's the reason I've managed to keep Haruhi happy for so long."

"You only got married last October," Kyoya pointed out.

Tamaki gave his friend a knowing smile. "But I've gotten her to put up with me for twelve years so far."

The brunette rolled his eyes and put the book aside. "Thanks, but I don't need any help with my marriage."

"Yeah, you do. Risa isn't one of your so-called 'girlfriends'. You can't just drag her out for obligatory social functions and ignore her the rest of the time."

Sometimes, Kyoya thought, Tamaki could be unusually observant. "How did you know?"

"That none of your public relationships over the years were real? Please! One of them was with Jounouchi Ayame." Tamaki rolled his eyes dramatically. "She and Benibara were secretly married in Hawaii two years ago." He grinned at Kyoya's look of surprise that he knew and shrugged. "Haruhi was invited to the wedding."

"They were all mutually beneficial arrangements." Kyoya took a long sip of his drink. "We provided each other with a presentable escort when the need arose without the risk of romantic entanglements. But it's not like those have been my only relationships with women."

Tamaki's look was withering. "A wife can't be treated like a one-night-stand, a mistress or a 'friend-with-benefits' either." He stopped and a look of consideration passed his face. "Not unless you really don't care if she goes and falls in love with someone else."

Kyoya pushed his glasses up. "Risa and I have an understanding." His tone clearly cut off all further discussion of the topic.

Tamaki ignored it.

"Kyoya," he began with a Gallic wave of his hand, "women are like flowers…"

"Oh, God." Kyoya groaned and buried his forehead in his hand.

"…they quickly wither in the frost of our neglect. You must bathe them in the sunlight of your attention, shower them with the gentle rain of your affection, and weed out the…um… weeds... of their insecurities…" Tamaki seemed to founder, losing track of where he was in his metaphor.

"Oh go on," Kyoya urged with narrowed eyes, "I'm just dying to hear what we're supposed to fertilize them with."

Tamaki blinked in shock. "That's pretty crass for you, _mon ami._ I must be hitting a nerve." He leaned back and took a sip of his beer before gesturing towards Kyoya with the bottle. "The point is, if you don't tend the garden, you're leaving it to bloom for someone who will."

Before Kyoya could respond, a dripping wet Honey pulled himself up onto the side of the pool near him. "Oh! That's a great book!" He pointed to Tamaki's present.

"Did you give this book to everyone?" Kyoya asked Tamaki sardonically.

"Tama-chan and I got our copies at the same time when we were in Boston," Honey chirped from where he sat cross-legged on the ground. "I gave a copy to Takashi when he and Kaori got married. It has great advice like to accept her for who she is."

"Who else would she be?" Kyoya muttered under his breath.

Mori finished wrapping a towel around his son and sent him back into the house. The stoic host silently handed his cousin a towel and wrapped one around his own shoulders. "Go on dates," he contributed.

"I'd have to pry her out of her lab with a crowbar."

Tamaki picked up the theme with an expansive gesture. "Tell her you love her regularly."

"Except we don't love each other."

Tamaki merrily barreled on, ignoring anything that conflicted with his version of reality. "Assist with the housework."

"We have a housekeeper."

"And kiss her every day." Tamaki stopped and looked at Kyoya with suspicion. "What? No snarky comment?"

"No. That suggestion actually has some merit," Kyoya said drily.

The blonde's face broke out in a big, goofy grin. "I knew it! I knew you liked her!"

Kyoya rubbed his temples as he strained to understand his friend's convoluted logic. "Tamaki, the two are not one and the same. Or haven't you paid ANY attention to the twins' exploits for the last decade?"

"Kyoya!" The blonde's face turned the shade of a strawberry. "You are NOT comparing the sacred bond of matrimony to one of those degenerate doppelgangers' affairs!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Hikaru complained as he and his brother materialized behind Tamaki.

"Yeah, we always treat our… _dates…_ with respect." Kaoru continued.

Both twins exchanged matching Cheshire cat grins. "Unless they don't want us to," Hikaru qualified.

While Tamaki sputtered, Honey reached out and put a hand on Kyoya's arm. "Tama-chan's right." His brown eyes widened in concern. "A wife is special. You can't treat her like you would any other woman. Right Takashi?"

"Hn." The senior's eyes held a faint trace of disappointment when he looked at his newly wedded junior.

"Don't you like her even a little Kyo-chan?" Honey blinked at him with the innocence of a child and the guile of a master manipulator.

Kyoya's skin itched uncomfortably as five pairs of eyes turned on him in a mix of inquiry and judgment. He knew exactly what this was. The host club's obsessive need to involve themselves in other people's business had reared its ugly head and it was pointed straight in his direction. If he wasn't careful, he'd find himself the victim of Project 'Teach Kyoya to be a Good Husband.'

"Of course, she's an admirable woman." Kyoya pushed up his glasses and smiled broadly at his best friend. "Which Tamaki would know if he spent time talking to her instead of treating her like a leper."

Tamaki's eyes looked back and forth frantically at the other hosts. "That's not true, I don't…"

Hikaru's eyes lit up impishly and he joined in. "It's so sad. Risa's sure that _tono_ hates her."

Tamaki slowly shook his head and curved in on himself as if pierced by arrows. "I never meant…"

"What was it she said, Hika?" Kaoru gleefully piled on, "that he acts like she's some gold-digging wh…"

"Please, let's not use such ungentlemanly language." Kyoya held up his hand to cut the twin off. He sighed and shook his head mournfully. "Such a shame. And she was so looking forward to making her first friends in Japan."

Honey's piercingly innocent eyes swung back to the host king. "Is that true, Tama-chan? Have you been mean to Ri-chan?" A faint threat underlay his lowered voice. Above the two blonde heads, Mori's eyes studied Kyoya with silent amusement.

"I… I didn't realize." Tamaki looked up at Kyoya with wide puppy-dog eyes. "We must have made her feel so lonely." Kyoya rolled his eyes as Tamaki predictably slid all guilt away from himself and onto the entire club.

The host king jumped up and swept one arm out dramatically while placing the other on his chest. "Gentlemen! We cannot allow this to continue. As members of the (former) Ouran Host Club it is our sacred duty to make sure that every (former) Ouran princess is happy! I declare the start of Project 'Befriend Risa-hime!"

Kyoya smiled to himself as Tamaki started laying out grandiose plans to incorporate Risa into their family. Sometimes it was just too easy.

* * *

Risa sagged against the wall as the door closed behind the last guest. She felt a strange tingling sensation on the edge of her nerves, a cross between exhaustion and over-stimulation. Part of her wanted to sleep, but a stronger part didn't want the evening to be over yet. Kyoya locked the door and smiled at her like he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Alright, I admit it. I had fun," she confessed.

Kyoya's smile grew marginally wider. "Did you? I'm glad."

Risa bit her bottom lip and scrunched up her nose. "I'm really sorry, again, about the hole the twins and I burned in the lawn."

"I blame myself for not anticipating the result of combining you, the Hitachiin brothers, and explosives." She thought his eyes twinkled just a bit behind the light glinting off his glasses.

"But I was really impressed with how fast the security team responded. Didn't even need to call the fire department."

"They've been around our gatherings before. I'm told they consider them a good exercise in emergency response training."

Risa giggled and tilted her head back against the wall. She couldn't tell if it was the lingering effects of the tequila or the buzz she got from too much socializing, but she was having a hard time convincing herself to move away from the intimacy of the entry way.

"Your friends seemed much more amiable this time," she said with exaggerated innocence.

"Did they?" Kyoya could have won at poker with his expression.

"It's like they all suddenly had a desire to talk to me and invite me to do things with them." Hikaru had told her all about Tamaki's latest 'project' and she knew exactly where to place the blame.

"I did warn you they were a very social bunch."

Her eyes twinkled up at him with suppressed laughter. "You know, you're kind of cute when you lie."

Kyoya quirked an eyebrow at her. "I'm sure I don't know what you could be talking about."

Risa just smiled knowingly and peeled herself away from the wall. She turned towards the hallway towards her room but Kyoya's voice stopped her. "That restaurant you mentioned the other night. How does this coming Saturday sound?"

She slowly rotated around to face him, doubt and hope warring on her face. "But… it has a yearlong waiting list…"

"The head chef has catered some of my family's more… eccentric functions." Kyoya shrugged nonchalantly. "He said he'll be happy to reserve the chef's table in the kitchen for us."

Risa drew herself up, every muscle quivering in excitement. "We get to see them make it?"

Kyoya's lips twitched. She really was a kid when it came to presents. "If you ask nicely, they may even let you play with the liquid nitrogen."

Without warning, she launched herself across the small room. He let out a soft 'oof' when she slammed into him, arms tightly embracing him about the waist. "Is that a 'yes' then?" he chuckled, loosely linking his arms around her small frame.

Risa leaned back to look up at him. "Has anyone ever told you how amazing you are?"

"Occasionally," he teased.

"Thank you." She stood up on tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Not just for the restaurant. For today as well. It was very sweet of you."

Before she could step away, he slid one of his hands up her back to the nape of her neck. Holding her in place, he lowered his lips to hers for a proper kiss. He kept it gentle and undemanding, but he could feel her breath hitch and the quickening of her pulse beneath his hand. Just as she let out a small sigh and sagged against him, he broke it off.

"You're more than welcome." Her face was slightly flushed and her eyes half-closed with desire. He stroked down the side of her face. "It's late and we have an early meeting tomorrow." He regretfully released his hold and stepped back.

Risa blinked a few times, slowly coming out of her haze. "Right. Of course." She walked partway down the corridor before looking back at him over her shoulder. "I really did have a good time tonight." She gave him a shy smile. "Good night."

"Good night, Risa." Kyoya watched until her retreating form disappeared into her room. He turned off the downstairs lights and went to head upstairs to his own room. First, though, he grabbed the book Tamaki had left behind for a little light bedtime reading.


	16. The Laboratory Waltz

"Weird?" Amy idly tossed the throw pillow into the air where it spun before coming back down to be caught between her hands. "What do you mean by 'he's been acting weird?"

Risa shrugged one shoulder and squinched the side of her mouth as she tried to put it into words. "Just… different."

"Risa," Pooja chimed in, "If you want our advice you need to provide a few more details."

"Except I _didn't_ ask for your advice." Risa's voice squeaked in protest. "You two wouldn't stop badgering me until I told you how things were going."

Pooja dismissed her objection with a click of her tongue and idly pulled her long black hair back into a ponytail. "Manoj is on a business trip for a month and until school starts up again my life consists of playgroups, diaper changes, and late night feedings. I have to live vicariously through _someone._ "

"Why not Amy, then?"

"Her love life lacks a certain amount of…."

"Taste? Discretion?"

Amy stuck her tongue out at Risa.

"Romance," Pooja concluded.

Amy accepted the assessment with a grin. "But I make up for it in variety. Now define 'different," she ordered.

"Well," Risa replied with a resigned sigh, "he's always liked to have things his own way but the last few weeks he's been downright dictatorial about things that have nothing to do with him."

Two identical pairs of raised eyebrows urged her to continue.

Risa twirled her hair around her fingers trying to put her feelings into words. "Like… he started sending my admin into my office with a bento everyday and instructions to make sure I ate it. The poor woman is terrified he'll fire her if I don't eat every last piece of _tamagoyaki._ "

Pooja and Amy exchanged a look through the computer screen which Risa failed to notice as she warmed up to her topic. "And of course as soon as _he's_ done with _his_ work he has to come and drag _me_ out of the lab to go get dinner."

Pooja pulled her lips into her mouth like she was biting on them. "I see. Have you asked him why?"

Risa threw up her hands in exasperation. "Of course I did. He just said _'Risa,"_ she mimed pushing glasses up with one finger and spoke in a clipped, cool voice, " _caffeine and sugar do not constitute an adequate diet. The project is at a critical juncture and we would lose a significant amount of money if the chief researcher ended up in the hospital for exhaustion."_

Amy clutched the pillow tightly to her chest and raised it up so it covered her mouth. "You're right. He's an absolute monster." Her voice sounded strangled through the fabric.

"It hasn't been all bad," Risa admitted, wrinkling her nose and giving a small shrug. "When he's not being a tyrant he can be almost sweet. He took me to a restaurant I'd wanted to go to and to the ballet. Last night we went to the planetarium - I guess he used to love astrophysics in high school." She rolled her eyes dismissively. "Of course he did reserve the entire place so we wouldn't have to 'mingle with commoners." She nearly sprained her fingers forcefully putting air quotes around the last phrase.

"Let me get this straight." Amy dropped the pillow and began ticking things off on her fingers. "He's looking after you, taking you out to special events and locations, and sharing his interests with you." She chuckled knowingly. "Honey, he's courtin' ya."

"He's what?" Risa furrowed her brow in an attempt to process the new data point.

"Courting you," repeated Amy

"Wooing you," contributed Pooja

"Seducing you," Amy concluded.

"Oh." Risa blinked at both of them uncomprehendingly then opened her eyes wide as realization dawned. "Oh! I guess that _would_ explain the kisses."

"The WHAT?" the two women chorused.

"He's been kissing you?" Amy pointed her finger in admonishment. "Ris, next time you lead with _that_."

"It's only been goodnight kisses. Not even any ton…" Risa cut herself off and pressed her mouth in a tight line.

"Only goodnight kisses?" Pooja twisted her ponytail and grinned. "Oh. Now he _is_ a sly one." She laughed at the confused expression on the younger woman's face. "If he's kissing you at night it's so you'll think of him when you go to bed," she explained.

"Been having good dreams lately, Ris?" Amy chortled as the blush rose up Risa's neck and all the way to her hairline.

"But… if he really is trying to seduce me, why does he stop with just…"

"I don't know. Most guys are all hands if you give them the slightest encouragement." Amy wrinkled her nose like she was trying to solve a difficult algorithm. "Do you kiss him back?"

"Ah… um… I mean… it's not like I say 'no' or anything…"

"It sounds to me like he's being a gentleman." Pooja's expression was a cross between 'big sister' and 'professional sex researcher.' "Do you _want_ him to go farther?"

The warmth on Risa's face went from fiery to volcanic.

Pooja chuckled. "Perhaps he is waiting for a signal from you."

"What am I supposed to do? Just grab his hand and put it on my…" Risa's hands fluttered around her torso. "…or something."

Amy fell over sideways on her bed, laughing hysterically into the duvet. Pooja simply gave an elegant cough. "If you're comfortable with that, it _would_ get the message across. I think, though, you only need to take the lead a little bit. I'm sure he'll be smart enough to figure it out."

"Try slipping him some tongue when he gives you that good night kiss." Amy had recovered and was back sitting up. She leaned forward towards the camera on her laptop excitedly. "Aren't you two going to Kyoto for a trip next week? A little relaxation, a _lot_ of alcohol..."

"Perhaps not _too_ much alcohol," Pooja interjected.

"…perfect opportunity to make some crazy science together."

"It's just a group trip with his friends for the Obon festival," Risa tried to clarify. "It's not a romantic weekend getaway or anything. Kaori's even bringing the baby."

"I only have one question for you." Pooja tapped one elegantly manicured fingernail thoughtfully against the side of her chin. "Will you be sharing a room?"

Risa was beginning to wonder if you could blush so hard that your capillaries burst. Kyoya had explained that he'd booked them a single room for appearance sake.

Pooja laughed delightedly. "Never mind, I can see from your face that you will." Her expression softened and she looked at her friend with sympathetic eyes. "Risa, if you aren't ready, that's fine. Just ignore our teasing but… well, you're married now. It isn't a matter of _if_ but _when_."

Risa gnawed uncertainly on her bottom lip. "How do I know? If I'm ready?"

Pooja opened her mouth but Amy cut her off. "Sometimes I think you'd have been better off if what's-his-name… you know, that football player from back home you dated for all of five seconds?"

"Derek," Risa supplied, "Derek O'Reilly." Looks like Taylor Kitsch, brains like a goldfish. But he'd been the first boy her own age to ever look at her as anything other than a freak.

"Yeah, him." Amy was frowning and her eyes unusually serious. "Anyway, maybe if Ryan hadn't interrupted when Derek was trying to feel you up at the drive-in you'd be less skittish."

"I'm not skittish! Just, cautious," Risa admitted.

"Honey, it's just sex. It's supposed to be fun! Do you _like_ his kisses?" Risa responded with a hesitant nod. "Then just start from there and see where it goes. Stop over-thinking things for a change and just enjoy."

"And stop when you've gone too far out of your comfort zone to enjoy it anymore," Pooja concurred.

Risa took a deep breath and smiled at her two surrogate sisters. They were right, next time she just needed to tell her brain to shut off, stop worrying about what could happen, and relax.

How hard could that be?

* * *

Kyoya's entry into the lab was unheard by its sole occupant. For a second, he stood on the threshold in shock and then quietly closed the door behind him and leaned against it. Risa, her lab coat swinging back and forth centimeters above the hem of her black skirt, was dancing around the lab to the sounds of an American pop song. It was such a spectacular sight he had no words to describe it.

Abysmal. Horrifying. Atrocious. None of them quite captured just how disjointed, awkward, and graceless it was.

When the song reached the bridge, she stretched behind her and placed her hands on a stool. Bending her knees, she wiggled her hips in what was probably supposed to be a sexy shimmy while singing along to the song.

' _Ooh, we all want the same thing._ _  
_ _Ooh, we all run for something.'_

When she came back up, she half-turned towards the door and gave a startled shriek when she saw him.

Kyoya's shoulders shook in an attempt to hold in his laughter. "What _are_ you doing?"

Risa smiled and went back to dancing, entwining her arms over her head like a marionette operated by drunk puppet master. "My lucky 'positive experiment outcome' dance." She waved her hand in the general direction of the humming DNA Sequencer. "If this run comes out as expected we'll be ready to green light the next phase of pre-clinical trials." She reached out her hand towards him and wriggled her hips without any regard to the beat. "Want to join me?"

"Thanks, but I'll put my trust in your scientific talents, not in your dancing." God help them all if success depended on her dance skills.

"Coward." On the beat, she switched to more recognizable footwork and executed several steps backwards with a Latin flair. "Sure? If you don't like freestyle you can salsa to it." She wrapped her other arm around her waist and made circular gestures with her outstretched hand in invitation. The movements actually matched the rhythm and displayed some signs of grace. She must have taken ballroom lessons at some point.

He couldn't take his eyes off her feet rocking forward and back in a complicated pattern. His lips tugged upward. "I'll pass."

She executed a turn on her black high-heeled pump and continued her dance, wriggling her hips as she alternating crossing one arm across her stomach and lifting the other in the air as if dancing with a phantom partner. "I should have known," she sighed. She looked back at him over her shoulder and her eyes sparkled with pure feminine challenge. "Kyoya-sama is too prim and proper to dance."

He let her statement lie for now. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned his hips back against the door and enjoyed the sight of her legs as they sinuously wrapped around each other while she danced around the room. She'd been tormenting him with those things for months - wearing nothing but her tight leggings and tiny cotton shorts around the house. How could somebody who barely reached his shoulder have legs that looked so long? It was by far his favorite thing about her. Physically at least.

As for her other attributes…

He'd feared that by spending more time with her she'd become predictable. He was wrong. So far, she didn't bore him. Not the way most women, most people, did. As she started dropping the last vestiges of her reserve around him he'd found a companion who was funny, observant, and interested in nearly everything. At times he'd even shared plans or problems he was working on with her. He wasn't asking advice, Ootori's were expected to be self-sufficient, but he valued her counsel. It wasn't hearts and flowers and happily-ever-after, but he thought that with Risa he could have more than he'd ever expected out of a marriage– a true partnership. That was something worth looking forward to.

That and her legs. Those beautiful legs wrapped around his waist while he…

The sound track switched from modern pop to vintage jazz and Louis Armstrong serenaded them in perfect three-quarter time.

' _Moon River, wider than a mile…'_

Caught by the sudden change in tempo, Risa stumbled just a bit and Kyoya moved forward to grab her arm and steady her. He slid his left hand down her arm, grasped her hand, and pulled her into a tight closed hold with his right hand splayed across her back. She looked up at him, lips slightly parted in surprise, and he guided her into a slow waltz. "Always making assumptions," he teased. "I never said I didn't dance. I simply prefer the European styles."

The music was slow and sultry, and Kyoya timed his steps to it perfectly, but Risa couldn't seem to breathe. With each turn, his knee brushed against hers and his hand pressed firmly against her back. Space expanded and contracted between their bodies as he alternated between stepping away and pulling her close in a rhythm that mimicked the slow, steady beat of a heart.

But not hers. Hers raced to the beat of Samba drums.

Looking up she saw nothing but a politely bemused expression on his face. Resentment that he remained unaffected grew and she lashed out, taunting him. "Why?" Her voice sounded low and throaty to her ears. "Don't you know how to use your hips?"

He twirled her around once, twice, and then pressed her up against the counter with his arms on either side caging her in. The mask of indifference dropped and his eyes glittered dark with promise. "You do enjoy playing with fire, don't you?" He tilted his body forward, lightly pressing the hips she'd teased him about up against hers.

He was so close she could feel the warmth of his body licking against her skin but he didn't move any nearer. She could stay still and wait for him to step away.

Or…

She inched the hand still clasping his shoulder up to the base of his neck and pressed her fingers against it lighter than a butterfly's landing. Not waiting for more, Kyoya's lips descended on hers with bruising speed. Risa opened her mouth on a sigh and his tongue swept inside it to lay claim. The faint taste of green tea and the scent of bergamot and cardamom filled her senses. She tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled herself up on her toes, pressing her body flat against his, and surrendered to the delightful shivers coursing up and down her spine. It was time to tell her brain to take a hike and let her body be in the driver's seat for once.

Kyoya' hands moved off the counter and stroked down along her back. Fingers dug into her hips and pressed them more firmly against his while his lips dotted kisses along her jaw towards her ear. Risa tilted her head back to allow him access. Each place he touched sent prickles all the way down her arms and legs until her toes curls and her fingers gripped his neck to keep her from collapsing. Why had nobody ever told her how good this felt? She really should have tried the whole 'not thinking' thing sooner.

His right hand drifted up to trace along the neckline of her blouse. Slowly, giving her time to object, he flicked open the top button and then the next, and the next. His fingers lightly brushed against her flesh as he worked his way down. Stopping half way, he pushed the edges aside. A convulsion rocked through her at the feather-light touch trailing along the edge of her bra and her stomach muscles clenched so hard she almost jack-knifed. His chuckle tickling her ear was low, wicked, and sent heat coursing straight to her core.

Kyoya pulled away and lowered his head to follow the path of his fingers with his lips. Risa leaned back and braced her hands against the counter, bumping the centrifuge with her elbow. The sharp stab of pain pulled her out from the sweet fog encasing her senses.

"Kyoya, no," she mumbled, pushing lightly against his chest. He stilled immediately and took a half-step backwards, composing his face once again into a mask of politeness, and she knew he had misunderstood. "I mean, not… not here." A humorless giggle escaped her lips. "I don't even let people _eat_ in the lab."

His eyes gleamed and his lips returned to the right side of her neck, nipping at the spot where it joined her shoulders. The swirl of his tongue mirrored the coil of heat wrapping around her abdomen and all points lower. She gasped and stretched her neck to the side in surrender. Long fingers repeated their brush against her skin as he moved upwards, buttoning up her blouse as slowly as he'd taken it apart. When done, he curled his right hand around the side of her head and nibbled his way up to her ear.

"Let's go home," he whispered. The gentle stroke of his breath sucked the strength away from her muscles. It was all she could do to nod. He ran his fingers lightly down her arms to the end and clasped her hands in his and tugging her away from the counter and towards the door.

_Bzzzt._

Risa's head turned sharply to face the waiting DNA Sequencer. Kyoya reached out and stroked the side of her face. "Leave it for tomorrow." But he could see he'd already lost her attention. Leaning down, he brushed a kiss across her lips to regain her focus. She dutifully kissed back and he could sense the effort she was making. With a wry chuckle, he pulled away.

"Sorry." She scrunched her face up and hunched her shoulders apologetically. "I won't be able to think about anything else."

"I'd prefer to have you not think at all. But if you must…" He lightly shoved her in the direction of her beloved piece of lab equipment. "You have five minutes," he growled.

She smiled her thanks and scurried over to review the results.

Kyoya pulled out his cell phone and messaged Hotta to bring the car around before checking up on his email. The five minutes passed quickly yet Risa was still standing there paging through bar charts. She had a slight frown on her face and he knew whatever hopes he had for the evening had vanished. At least there would be Kyoto. He wasn't superstitious, but he was beginning to think the lab was cursed. There was always a distraction, or somebody breaking in, or…

"Something's wrong." Her flat tone set off alarm bells in the back of his brain.

He moved so he could view the screen. "Are the results not what you expected?" he asked with forced calmness.

"It's more than that." A panicky note crept in to her voice and her chest rose and fell in short rapid pants. "You know all the mice we use are specially bred to meet a specific genetic profile?"

"I'm aware. You explained to me that's why they cost so much."

"These sequences should be the control group." She rapidly clicked through a set of charts too fast for him to view. "But the genetic markers in them don't match the profile. Some have only one or two; most don't have any at all. And when I look at the treatment group the results are the same." Her onyx eyes were as wide as saucers when she looked at him. "These samples aren't from my mice. I don't even think they're from lab mice at all."

Kyoya was already dialing the number for his Security chief before she'd finished. Risa kept paging through sequence after sequence as if she could somehow summon a different result. "I don't understand," she muttered, "the samples are useless by themselves. Why would anybody… Oh, God!" Her mind reeled as she arrived at the conclusion that he had already formed.

He barely caught her when her legs collapsed out from under her and he quickly set her on a nearby stool. "Proof of concept." She buried her face in her hands and took deep shuddering breaths. "The samples are only valuable as a proof of concept. They only need them if they've already got their hands on the original research."

Risa felt like she was slowly drifting away from her body. Kyoya's voice instructing Tachibana to bring a response team and include his best forensic computer specialist sounded tinny, like it came from a far distance. Suddenly weary, she folded her arms on the counter and laid her head down like a school kid at naptime.

They'd patented parts of her process, of course, but it was how everything combined which would give them the advantage. And in the real world there were many ways around the legalities if you had money and power. Suing after the fact was almost pointless - litigation was costly, time-consuming, and never delivered satisfactory justice. Sakura was a small fish in a very large pond, it wouldn't take much for them to be silenced and shut out.

A bit of her despair lifted at the touch of Kyoya's hand gently resting on the back of her head. He stroked her hair like he was comforting a small child. "I _will_ find out who did this." The vow seemed to be as much to himself as to her.

She nodded. It seemed like what he needed. In her heart, though, she knew that unless he did it in time, it wouldn't really matter.


	17. The Fundraiser

"How do I look?" Risa twirled around with her elbows bent and hands palm-up at shoulder height. The soft folds of her skirt flared out revealing a glimpse of leg just above the knee.

Kyoya looked up from his cell phone and scanned from her conservative up-do, past the string of cultured pearls and all the way down to the hem of the black cocktail dress with skirt that slightly flared at the waist.

"Like a Japanese Audrey Hepburn." He replied. "Except for the shoes." He gave a pointed look at her feet as he took the shimmering black shawl from her hands, draped it around her shoulders and offered her his arm for the short walk from the house to the car.

"Perfect. That's my strategy." Her free hand gestured over her dress from shoulders to knee. "All 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' up top." She stopped stretched out and pointed one bright red shiny leather clad toe. "With just a touch of 'Bridget Bardot' down below."

Hotta held the backdoor of the limo open on the curb side. Kyoya settled her in and Hotta shut the door then darted around to get the door on the other side for his employer. "Your strategy?" Kyoya asked indifferently after taking his seat, eyes once again glued to his phone. The last status report from Tachibana had been over an hour ago, surely there'd be a new one soon.

"Well, we _are_ going to the Ootori Foundation Fundraiser and isn't it the 'solemn duty of every Ootori to do their utmost to raise money for a worthy cause.' I'm pretty sure your father expounded upon that point last Sunday dinner. At. Length."

"Mmm." Nothing yet. He reread the last report hoping to find something they may have missed.

"Which you might have remembered if you had looked up from your cell phone once the entire meal." Risa said with slight chuckle.

Kyoya released his breath in a small sigh and rested the phone in his lap. "I'm sorry, have I been ignoring you?"

"It's not that, I'm just concerned." Risa took in the slightly disheveled hair, nearly translucent skin, and faint droop at the corner of his eyes. "Don't you think you've been working too much lately?" Kyoya quirked an eyebrow at her and she smothered a laugh. "Yes, I am fully aware of the hypocrisy of that statement coming from me."

He took off his glasses with one hand and started working out a kink in the back of his neck with the other. "I probably am, but it can't be helped."

"No break in the investigation at all?"

"Nothing since we found the man in IT who stole the data and helped cover up the break-in to switch the samples. Unfortunately, he was simply a hired gun working through anonymous drop locations."

"So what happened to him?" Risa looked around surreptitiously and lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "Is he still alive?"

Kyoya snorted. "We released him back into the wild in the hopes he'll get contacted again." He put his glasses back on and the light glinted off them menacingly. "Of course, he'll never work in this country again."

She shivered slightly and fell silent. Her hands, resting in her lap, twined about each other in an intricate dance. It had been over two weeks since the theft and with every passing day her hopes dwindled. "I suppose, we could always sell out to your father," she said softly, staring at her restless fingers, unable to meet his eyes, "The Ootori Group would have the money to fight attempts at patent infringement."

"I'm not willing to give in just yet." Kyoya's confidence compelled her to face him. "I haven't uncovered anything that would lead me to believe the person who arranged the theft was commissioned by a specific organization. He'll need to arrange a sale, and soon. All we need is to find a believable buyer that could get in on any auction."

He didn't say that anyone who they partnered with openly would force them to make concessions. The best case would be to find a legitimate buyer unaware of his intentions. Then, he'd take back what was his from right under their nose.

Kyoya picked up his cell phone, his face looked even paler bathed in the harsh blue glow. "Don't worry about tonight." He shrugged one shoulder dismissively. "My siblings and I are capable of pulling in enough donations to keep my father happy. He only cares that we surpass Tokyo Medical's fundraiser."

Risa forced down a sigh as her husband returned to obsessing over details he might have missed. Lately, she had been the one to drag him home each night. He'd dutifully eat dinner, one eye on his phone the whole time, before disappearing upstairs. The light would still be glowing under his office door by the time she went to bed. She knew all about working hard because of a deadline, or to solve a critical issue, or even because the project was fun. This was something else. It was almost self-flagellation. What he needed was a distraction, even if only for a little while.

The germ of an idea formed and began to spread. Risa looked at her reflection in the car window and took care all traces of a smile were wiped off her face before she turned to look at him. "You don't think I can do it." She did her best to add just the right amount of indignation to her words.

"No offense," he replied without looking away from the tiny screen in his hands. "These events aren't your strong suit. You did contemplate mass murder at our engagement party."

The slight quirk of his lips gave her all the encouragement she needed to press on. "That was because I had to make small talk with women who hated me. This is completely different. My mother is the reigning queen of the New York social scene. Between that and academia I've been trained on how to charm money out of people."

"If you say so."

"I told you, I do a pretty credible 'New York Socialite' when needed." Kyoya gave the barest of nods, just enough to indicate he was still listening. "Alright, Mr. Skeptic. How about a bet?"

Risa bit her top lip to keep from smiling when he looked her way and actually put the phone in his pocket. "That could be interesting." The amusement in his eyes let her know he suspected what she was up to, but she kept her poker face intact. "Terms?"

"Whichever of us puts the most donation money in your father's hands by the end of the night wins. Ah! But donations from your Host Club friends or their family don't count." She was probably going to lose, but at least she'd make sure she had a fighting chance. "If I win, then I want a new particle size analyzer for the lab."

Kyoya adjusted his glasses and fixed her with an appraising stare. "Too expensive. Please keep it reasonable."

"Fine." She rolled her eyes dramatically. She didn't really _need_ the machine, but shiny new toys were so much fun. "A Keurig for the break room, then. And enough K-cups for everyone to have three a day for three months."

He considered it for a moment, probably mentally adding up the cost, before nodding curtly. "Acceptable."

"What about you?"

Kyoya gave her a long look, then pulled his cellphone back out and dialed a number. The person who answered squawked a loud greeting and he moved it away from his ear with a grimace before speaking. "Tamaki?… Yes, of course it's me – don't you have caller ID?… No, I can't wait to see your sonogram pictures at the fundraiser. Again…. Truly, the five emails you sent this week weren't nearly enough to appreciate how 'amazingly wonderful' your progeny is. I'm curious, just who did you manage to bribe on my staff to make it my laptop wallpaper?... Yes, I promise I won't 'rain death and destruction' down upon their head. I know _exactly_ where to place the blame… Oh, really?"

He looked over at Risa with retribution in his eyes. She giggled and held up her hand, wiggling her fingers at him in acknowledgement. His joy in plotting revenge when he realized he couldn't unset it, thanks to Amy's instructions, had distracted him from his worries for almost a full day. He was going to kill her.

It was worth it.

"Anyway," Kyoya said firmly to get Tamaki back on topic, "is the VIP suite at the hotel we'll be at available?... Good, I'd like to reserve it." He looked over at her, the glint in his eye challenging her to say something. "No comment… Really, Tamaki, it's none of your business… Yes, she is – how perceptive of you to finally figure it out… Thank you. I'll see you there."

She should probably object. It had to be against some feminist code or something. "That seems worth a bit more than a Keurig." She winced. That sounded wishy-washy even to her.

"No expectations." His lips said one thing but his eyes made other promises. "It will do us both good to spend some time away from the house and the office. Consider this a make-up for sending you off to Kyoto by yourself." She could almost feel his gaze caressing her skin as it travelled all the way down to her feet and back up to meet hers. "We can do whatever you want."

Her swallow lodged in her throat and she flicked her tongue out to wet her lips. She took a shaky breath and pushed back her shoulders in a show of confidence. "Not that it matters. My mother had me attending these things since I was fourteen."

"My father had us start at ten." He smirked and turned his attention back to the cellphone. "I'm sure you'll do your best."

She spent the remainder of the ride coming up with synonyms for 'smug bastard' in seven languages.

* * *

"There's still a chance for you to back out," Kyoya whispered into her ear as they stood on the threshold to the crowded ballroom, partly to tease her but also to give her a chance to withdraw if she really objected to spending the night with him. No matter what she thought about her abilities, this was not the type of challenge he could lose. He snagged two champagne flutes from a passing server and handed her one.

"You still don't believe me." She gave him a coy look over the rim of her glass. "Just to prove it - I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

His sip of champagne hit his windpipe and Kyoya coughed to cover the choke. She had a nasty habit of timing her most audacious comments for when his mouth was full.

"Targets," she clarified with a mischievous wrinkle of her nose and too innocent eyes. "I don't know _what_ you could have been thinking I meant."

She scanned the crowd with assessing eyes. "The doctors and university professors swarming the buffet table are a non-starter. No money. They'll either want me to fund them, hire them, or sleep with them. I won't have much luck with the women, either." She gestured with her glass towards a flock of women greeting each other with large fake smiles. "To them I'm just the girl who took the last eligible Ootori bachelor off the market. You could probably do well with them if you hinted that you were willing to have an affair."

Her chin tilted slightly towards him and he answered the unasked question lurking behind her eyes. "Thankfully my agenda here tonight precludes that. So who are your targets, then?"

"Over there." She nodded towards the far wall. "The old men pretending that they just happen to be near the chairs they'll need in thirty minutes when their knees give out. Rich, neglected, and happy to talk to a pretty young thing that reminds them of their first love."

Kyoya studied the wealthy men who still controlled the purse strings for companies their sons ran and then flicked his eyes back to the woman beside him decked head-to-toe in vintage sixties-style. Perhaps this wouldn't be a total rout on his part. He might have to actually exert himself a bit.

"Your turn." She took a sip of her own drink and sparkled up at him inquiringly.

"I don't recall agreeing to your proposition," he teased. Her eyes narrowed and outrage flamed in their depths. She opened her mouth to reply but he cut her off, knowing it would only incense her further. "I'm going after the middle-aged businessmen. They'll be happy to donate if they think it might mean an opportunity for investment in our company. Rumor has been getting around that we are onto something lucrative."

"And you'll get to make a few side deals too, I'm sure," she drawled.

He nodded modestly. "Well, if the opportunity presents itself."

Risa chuckled before shooting back the rest of her drink and handing the empty glass off to a waiter. She took a deep breath and all traces of the slightly awkward, wickedly intelligent woman he knew her to be vanished, replaced by a flirty and frivolous socialite. "I'm off. Happy hunting!" Her hips wiggled enticingly as she headed towards the group of unsuspecting patriarchs.

He would definitely have to put some effort in if he wanted to win this.

* * *

The small alcove off the main hallway offered a brief respite from the stuffy ballroom. Risa leaned forward against the marble counter and adjusted her makeup in the gilt-edged mirror, mentally calculating how many people were left to approach. There were ten, maybe fifteen left. It probably wasn't enough. Her father-in-law was delighted at the bet and he'd hinted that Kyoya was ahead, but he wouldn't say by how much. She gave a small snort, it would be just like Yoshio to tell both of them the same thing.

Still, things were going well. It was hard to tell when Kyoya had his mask so firmly in place, but the faint gleam in his eyes made her think that he was enjoying himself instead of just suffering through the event before going back to work. Perhaps losing wouldn't be too bad.

The hand holding her lipstick stopped in mid-air, poised centimeters from its target. Perhaps _everything_ that came with losing wouldn't be so bad. What they had might not be love, but it was definitely a commitment. Plus, there was that irritating way she got tachycardia every time he entered her personal space. Risa smiled widely and the lipstick touched down, gliding over them and leaving a dark red trail which made her feel irresistible. Maybe this would be the perfect excuse to just get it out of her system and restore her equilibrium.

A tall figure in a form-fitting, sequined, silver dress appeared next to her in the mirror. Risa's eyes flickered up to the woman's face, her lips already parted for a polite greeting. The words died on her tongue. The woman beside her was leaning towards the mirror, adjusting the reddish-brown curls framing her oval face, seemingly oblivious to the other occupant of the small alcove. Risa gripped her lipstick tightly to keep her hand from shaking. All the walls she'd spent years building had vanished as if they had no more substance than wet tissue paper.

"Risa-chan!" The woman squealed as if suddenly noticing her. Risa knew better. Nothing Mitzusaka Katsumi did was ever uncalculated. "I almost didn't recognize you without those horrid little glasses you used to wear!"

"Katsumi-chan." Risa gave the barest of nods in acknowledgement. "You… haven't changed a bit." Time may have matured her body but the cruelty in her eyes was undiminished. And that voice… The sugar-syrupy tone was exactly the same as the one which haunted her nightmares. The one she'd spent every school day dreading for nine long years.

The auburn-haired beauty preened as if she had been complimented. "I hear you got married." Half-turning to face Risa, Katsumi gave a smile that could cut glass. "It must be nice to be the only child and heir. It gives someone like you so many more options."

Risa could only stand there mute, heart pounding in her ears, as Katsumi's mere presence drove her back in time over a decade. Every instinct in her body forced her to freeze like a mouse before a snake.

"And an Ootori too!" Katsumi turned back towards the mirror and made a show of adjusting already perfect hair and makeup. "My father simply wasn't willing to pay Yoshio-san's asking price. Though I suppose your family was more desperate. After all, Mitzusaka Pharmaceuticals is so much larger than your tiny little family company and I already have two brothers to inherit it. Lucky for you, ne?"

Katsumi's eyes met Risa's in the mirror. She twisted her lips into a conspiratorial grin and lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "Such a pity my father wouldn't cut a deal. Kyo-chan is so charming. And an amazing lover. The things that man can do with his…." She gave a small gasp and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, sorry. I suppose that isn't the type of thing one is supposed to say to a new wife."

Risa slid her eyes away from Katsumi and back to her own reflection. Wife. Not just any wife, but one married into the most powerful family in Japan. The reminder of her new status gave her strength and she reached for the masks she'd spent years learning to wear, wrapping them about her like a shield. Brick-by-brick her walls slid back into place and she returned her attention to the woman primping in the mirror beside her, still prattling on.

"…then again, nobody in our circles is naïve enough to believe marriages are anything other than business arrangements. Some wives are positively grateful for someone to divert their husband's… _baser_ needs."

"Of course," Risa replied coolly. "I'll simply content myself with having his name, his money, and his family's power. Isn't that what you really want anyway?"

In retrospect, she should have anticipated the slap.

" _Hafu_ slut, just like your mother." Katsumi snarled, rage distorting the perfection of her features.

Risa lightly rubbed her stinging cheek. "You never were very good with basic math, Katsumi-chan. It takes two after all. Maybe you should place the blame for your father's infidelity where it belongs instead of on me. It's not like my mother forced him to sleep with her."

Katsumi raised her hand again but faltered at the look in Risa's eyes. "I'm not a scared little twelve-year-old anymore," Risa continued, "If you strike at me again, I'll fight back." Katsumi slowly dropped her hand to her side. Risa stepped forward, causing the taller woman to shrink back. "Now, I suggest you leave before I decide to have a chat with my mother-in-law about the respect you show the Ootori family." The Ootori matriarch could banish someone from Japanese high society with a word. Hopefully, only Risa was aware that it was an empty threat.

Risa's childhood tormentor pulled herself up, sensing an underlying weakness in her opponent. A slow, cruel smile spread across her face. "Enjoy your new position, Risa-chan. I hope it keeps you warm at night when your husband's in my bed." She turned, flipping her long hair over her shoulder, and glided back out into the hall.

Risa sagged against the counter and buried her face in her hands. She hovered on the edge of hysteria, somewhere between sobbing and laughing. She'd fantasized about this moment for years. It hadn't gone as well as it had in her imaginings.

"See Kaoru? Told you this kitten's got claws." said a familiar voice.

Risa looked up and saw two identical figures leaning against either side of the entrance. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough," replied Hikaru, "We were going to intervene…"

"…but you looked like you had it covered," Kaoru continued.

"Great." As if the encounter hadn't been humiliating enough, it had been witnessed by two of the only people she liked in this country. She and Kaoru had buried their awkwardness over a bottle of sake in Kyoto. Once he dropped his antagonism, he wasn't half bad. Hikaru was still more fun, though.

Risa turned back towards the mirror, wiping off the areas around her eyes where her mascara has smudged. Hikaru sidled up next to her. "Oi!" He wrapped her lightly on the head with the back of his hand to attract her attention. "You do know she was lying, right? About her and Kyoya?"

"Of course." Risa shrugged. "He's been too busy to have an affair."

"That's not what I meant…"

Risa rounded on both of them. "Can you honestly say there's never been anything between them?" Twin faces flinched underneath her gaze. "I thought so. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back into the ballroom and get a few more lonely men to part with millions of yen."

* * *

Kyoya took a moment to survey the room. In terms of furthering his various agendas he was at around an eighty percent success rate for the evening, but there was plenty of time to close a few more deals or solicit some useful information. As for his _other_ goal… Kyoya let a pleased smile spread. His father had hinted that Risa might be ahead in their little bet but the old man wasn't above lying. By his own estimations, he had already won.

"Kyo-kun!" Exclaimed a feminine voice as sweet as treacle from his side, pulling his attention away from where Risa was flirting with the patriarch of a major medical equipment manufacturer. "You're looking lonely over here all by yourself."

He slid his 'host' persona into place and turned to assess his companion. "Mitzusaka-san. It's a pleasure to see you again." With a charming smile fixed on his face, his brain rifled through all relevant data to determine exactly how this encounter could be useful to him.

"Why so formal?" She smiled flirtatiously and fluttered her fake eyelashes at him. "You used to call me Katsumi."

Kyoya had too much poise to shudder at the memory. Of all the women his father had put forth as a potential bride, she had been the toughest to dissuade but he'd had no illusions that she craved anything more than his family's money and power. Their short association had lasted exactly as long as it took for him to convince her father to mutually reject the engagement. Kyoya pulled his smile back from charming to merely polite. "How is your family doing?"

"Surely there are more _interesting_ topics of conversation than my boring father and brothers." She reached out and trailed a finger along his arm. "Or maybe we could go somewhere we don't need to _talk_ at all."

Kyoya stepped back and bowed precisely as low as manners dictated and not a centimeter further. "Regretfully, Mitzusaka-san, my circumstances have changed since we last met."

"Oh yes, I heard your father finally forced you into a marriage." She waved her hand contemptuously. "Why he wanted such a tiny company is beyond me."

"Sakura has its good attributes." Kyoya's broad smile would strike fear into a more discerning person.

"Of course you _have_ to say that, but it's not even a fifth the size of my family's company."

"As you say." Losing what little interest he'd had to start with, he began searching around the room for an excuse to leave.

Katsumi's tone started taking on an edge of desperation as she tried to hold his interest. "If you ever want to reconsider your little… _arrangement…_ I'm sure father would be happy to consider making you a Vice President."

"That's a bit of a step down from Chairman," he said mildly. He spotted a former classmate who'd recently taken over his family's chain of retail pharmacies approaching the buffet. "If you'll excuse me, Mitzusaka-san, I have something to discuss with…"

"My brothers are weak." Katsumi cut him off, angling her body towards him and moving in closer than propriety allowed. "You just need the right project to showcase your talents and the company could be yours." She looked around, checking whether anyone was within ear-shot, and laid her hand against his bicep. Her voice lowered to a seductive whisper. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but we may be moving into a new line. Very cutting edge. I can't go into the details but it involves curing disease by fixing DNA."

Kyoya stiffened. As far as he knew, Mitzusaka was focused on chemically-based pharmaceuticals. There was only one way they could spin up biotech research that quickly. His pulse quickened, the hunter had finally found his prey. He stepped towards her, lowering his head to whisper in her ear. "Really? Sounds intriguing."

"Oh, it is," she replied breathily. "I'm sure a word or two in daddy's ear and the new division could be yours. Once the product hits the market…. Well, Chairman of Mitzusaka Pharmaceuticals would be a much better match to your rank."

"I think perhaps we should talk further." He stepped back and stretched out his hand. "Katsumi-chan, would you honor me with this dance."

* * *

Watching her husband dance with her nemesis for the third time, Risa felt her heart take up permanent residence in her stomach. She was sure he was only acting as befit the family hosting this event, she just wished she could see his eyes to make sure. It had to be simple good manner. Katsumi was frivolous, narcissistic, and meaner than a skunk.

But it wouldn't be the first time a smart man was guilty of bad taste.

"We could arrange to pour our drinks on her…" drawled a voice from behind her left shoulder.

"…but we don't think she'd melt," said the higher pitched voice at her right.

Risa pretended to study Katsumi before coming to a conclusion. "No, I'm pretty sure her type can only be destroyed by direct sunlight."

"You know he has to be polite to everyone at these things…" Hikaru's attempt at consoling her was practically a confirmation.

"…it doesn't mean anything." Kaoru's lukewarm statement did not inspire confidence either.

"Thank you, but I already know that," she lied. No public affairs. That was the deal and simply dancing with someone wasn't enough to violate it. Whatever happened in private, though…

On the dance floor, Katsumi tilted her head back, laughing at something Kyoya had said. Risa swallowed hard to drown out the sour taste in her mouth. Maybe she couldn't be as mature and adult about some things as she'd thought. She pasted her best socialite smile on and turned to her companions. "Gentlemen, how would you two like to help me win a bet?"


	18. The Lie

Risa leaned back in her chair, cradled the mug lovingly between her hands, and inhaled deeply. "I love the smell of French Roast in the morning." She paused, eyes twinkling up at her second-in-command. "Smells like… victory."

Nakamura, who sported a greyer version of the same ponytail he'd worn since his youth in the 1960's, chuckled at the reference and lifted his own mug in a toast. "Still can't believe you managed to win a new coffee machine off our tight-fisted _Oni-kaicho_." Risa raised an eyebrow in reproach and gave him a stern glare over the rim of her coffee cup. The old radical rolled his eyes and held up one hand in placation. "I mean our beloved Ootori- _kaicho_."

She pressed her lips together to control her mirth. Kyoya knew what the employees called him behind his back, sometimes she was sure he quite enjoyed being labeled the 'demon chairman.' She had agreed not to undermine him with the staff and so refused to tolerate the nickname in her presence. Anyone else would have received a reprimand but Nakamura was a special case. He'd been a friend of her father's and she had a bit of a soft spot for the old reprobate. He'd been the first one to let her experiment with mixing potassium and water.

She'd been four.

There'd been a lot of yelling and he'd almost been fired.

"I didn't win on my own." She felt compelled to admit. "It's amazing how much money middle-aged women are willing to part with when asked by a pair of handsome young men." The twins had seemed to enjoy it too - something about 'long overdue revenge.' Still, even with Hikaru and Kaoru's help, she'd only won by a hundred-thousand yen. It was almost as if Kyoya had gotten bored with the game. Risa frowned into her mug. Or maybe he'd become distracted by something more interesting.

Or by someone.

Risa's thoughts turned darker. In the week-and-a-half since the fundraiser Kyoya had been… absent. He still worked his usual hours from too-damn-early until long-after-everyone-else-left, but then he disappeared. Night after night she'd heard him come in close to midnight and head straight up to bed. He never offered an explanation for his late nights. And she never asked.

And then, this past weekend, he'd left unexpectedly on a trip.

"Risa-sensei, have you mentally left the office already?" Nakamura was chuckling at her lack of attention to whatever he had been saying. She shook her head sharply and shoved the question of her husband's wherabouts to the back of her mind.

"Sorry, I was just thinking of all I want to get done today." She was only in the office Monday this week. Tomorrow, she was heading off to Kyoto until Sunday. For the first time, the International Conference on Human Genetics was being held in Asia. She'd had to miss it the last two years, but there was no way she wasn't attending when it was in her own backyard. "I should have all my notes up to date and a list of everything I need you to take care of while I'm gone ready by end of day."

"Promise me you'll have fun at the conference. It's not everyday someone discovers a new gene."

"A pretty minor one," she said wryly. "A gene that represses normally dominant hair and eye colors is hardly going to cure cancer." Although, it did explain why Kyoya had so many friends whose looks defied all logical genetic explanation.

"You never know, so far you've only identified it as occurring within a subset of the Japanese population. Who can say what else it might control?"

Risa winked. "A fact I manage to point out in the paper I'm presenting." Success in science was all about self-promotion. Never allow any of your discoveries, no matter how small, to be minimized.

"They'll love it." Nakamura lifted his coffee cup in a salute. " _Ganbatte_ Risa- _sensei_!"

* * *

Risa pushed away from her desk and stretched her arms up over her head. Trying to get a week's worth of work done in a single day would be hard enough without also providing detailed instructions to Nakamura on what to do in the event of any contingency she could think of. Maybe her friends were right - she needed to learn how to delegate. She'd get right on it - _after_ the conference.

She checked the long email she'd composed one more time before hitting send, closed her laptop, and locked it away in her desk drawer. Since the theft, Kyoya had tightened security protocols and nothing was allowed to leave the lab that you didn't bring in. The rest of the lab denizens believed it was just an arbitrary dictate from the demon chairman. The fact of the theft was still secret from all but Tachibana's hand-picked security team. No company would advertise that they had been the victim of industrial espionage.

Risa changed out of her lab coat and grabbed her purse, double checking that she wasn't leaving anything behind. The rest of the employees had left long ago, yet for her it was an early time to call it quits. She flicked off the light and made sure the door was locked behind her.

Kyoya was probably still here as well and she wouldn't see him for a week. She should go say goodbye, let him know everything in the lab was covered during her absence. Who knew, maybe he was simply being a sore loser? She could extend the olive branch, so to speak, try to get things between them back to normal.

Refusing to second guess her decision, she headed for the elevator and hit the button for the top floor.

The reception desk on the Chairman's floor was predictably empty. Kyoya usually sent his secretary home on time so that she could eat dinner with her daughter. Risa gave a small chuckle, the _Oni-kaicho_  would lose his fearsome reputation if people started to figure out that underneath his demanding persona he could be a nice guy. To those he valued, at any rate.

She rapped once on his closed office door before entering without invitation. "Kyoya, I just came to…" Her voice trailed off and she halted in her steps, scarcely able to believe what she saw.

Kyoya stood in front of his desk, leaning his hips back against it with his arms crossed over his chest. His shirt-sleeves were rolled up and, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted his suit jacket and tie tossed haphazardly over one of the visitor chairs. At any other time, his sexily disheveled look would have been what took her breath away.

Right now, though, it was the woman standing in front of him that forced the air from her lungs and clenched her chest in a vice.

She was tall and elegantly dressed for an evening out in a sleek white-and-black sleeveless dress that left little to the imagination. Her hand was on Kyoya's forearm, using it to leverage herself up on tip-toes and bring her lips up next to his cheek – whether to kiss it or to whisper something in his ear was immaterial as far as Risa was concerned. At the sound of the door opening, she dropped the heels of her stilettos back to the ground and turned to see who had entered.

Risa noticed that the woman's hand didn't leave Kyoya's arm.

And then she observed that he made no move to push her off.

Finally, she realized that the stranger was someone she knew.

Mitzusaka Katsumi's expression was one of sinister glee as she fully turned to face Risa, her hand trailing up from Kyoya's forearm to lie possessively against his bicep. The fist around Risa's heart squeezed so tight she nearly collapsed. Seconds passed, nobody saying anything. Or maybe the world had just frozen in place, time slowing down to a crawl that stretched for an eternity.

Not quite sure how, Risa found her breath. The return of oxygen to her brain gave her the strength she needed to throw her walls back in place. She forced a mocking smile on her face and looked Mitzusaka up and down, dismissing the other woman with apparent amusement before switching her gaze to Kyoya. "Am I interrupting something, husband?" Risa winced at how tinny and strained her voice sounded and hoped it wouldn't give her away.

Kyoya looked back at her expressionlessly. "Katsumi-chan," he said, finally disentangling her clinging hand from his arm, "could you give us a minute please?" His voice was as calm as if she had interrupted a lunch meeting and not something… else.

"Of course." Katsumi strolled proudly towards the door, hips wiggling in a blatant display for the man watching her leave and her smug smile growing broader with every step. At the threshold, she paused briefly to rub more salt in her opponent's wound. "Don't forget Kyo-chan, our dinner reservations are in thirty minutes."

Risa's calm deteriorated the instant the door closed. "Is this where you've been all week? Who you've been with?" _Kami_ , she sounded like a shrew. This wasn't the way to handle this - it wasn't the mature response - but she couldn't seem to stop herself. "And I thought you had taste, _Kyo-chan,_ " She spat out derisively.

He didn't even have the decency to flinch.

Kyoya looked from his wife to the very thin door to his office. One he had no doubt Katsumi's ear was pressed up against. She'd amply demonstrated in the last week that eavesdropping was among her meager talents. Perhaps her only one. Why the hell had she decided to show up here? He'd been explicit that they could only meet outside the office. One more week. One more week and he could have told Risa everything.

He couldn't' afford a fight right now. Couldn't allow for things to be said that would make even someone as dense as Katsumi suspicious. Risa was a reasonable woman. After he'd done what he needed to, he'd tell her everything and she would understand.

Wouldn't she?

"My private life is my own business," he said and tilted his head back, using the overhead light to shield his gaze.

She couldn't see his eyes. The light glinted off his glasses and robbed her of her ability to read his mood. Was he angry at her interruption? Indifferent? Please god, don't let him be _polite!_ She knew she should leave, he had done nothing wrong. Nothing to violate their agreement. Why was she acting so erratically?

"No public affairs, remember?" She ground out, knowing that she was being unfair. Everyone else in the company had long since left so there was no one to see. "The company, _my company,_ is pretty damn public, if you ask me."

"If you'll recall," he replied evenly, "That was a stipulation I placed on you. One you did not reciprocate."

His statement brought her up short. Risa's mind flashed back to their first meeting, to the words of the arrangement that formed the bedrock of their relationship. She gave a soft gasp of shock, realizing that he was right. The wording of that clause had never made it mutually binding. "Ah. Of course." Absolute calm settled around her as deep inside she felt something break. Her breath came out in a despair-tinged chuckle. "I can't even accuse you of lying. It's my own fault for letting myself be misdirected." Some would say lying by omission was still deceit, but she knew both of them had been raised to consider it merely good contract negotiation.

Calm faded into numbness, insulating her from any further pain. The lack of feeling made it possible to meet his cold, grey eyes with ones she hoped were equally impassive. "I only came to tell you that I've fully briefed Nakamura-san on what needs to be done while I'm gone. I'll leave you to your… meeting. Thank you for clarifying the nature of our arrangement." She turned away from him to leave.

Behind her back, Kyoya stretched out his arm beseechingly before clenching his hand in a fist and dropping it back to his side.

A startled Katsumi nearly fell through the door when it opened and Risa glided past the woman without giving her a second glance. She headed straight for the stairs, not trusting her unnatural composure to last during the wait for the elevator. Exiting at the lobby level, she sailed out the front doors and turned her steps instinctively turning towards the subway station.

"Risa-sama," She halted and blinked uncomprehendingly at the figure standing in front of her before it resolved into the familiar shape of Hotta. "Kyoya-sama called down and said you would need a ride?" His questioning tone made it clear he knew something was wrong.

She nodded in acknowledgement and slid into the backseat of the waiting town car. How like Kyoya. Even in the middle of… whatever he was in the middle of… he could still remember to make sure she got home safely.

Company assets needed to be protected, after all.

Five minutes after walking through the door, Risa found the quiet of the house grating. She simply couldn't do it. It was impossible to go on as if everything were fine. What she needed was some space. Some time to come to terms with the new ground rules of their relationship. No, not new rules – just rules she hadn't understood. Ojii-sama would be angry with her for failing to read the fine print.

It would be alright once she'd gotten over the shock. Fortunately, she had a place to go that would give her the distance she needed. Stuffing toiletries into a mostly packed suitcase, she went to head out the front door and stopped.

Hotta had to have known. He drove Kyoya everywhere. Sympathy from anyone, even unvoiced, would be more than she could bear. Instead, she headed across the living room, slipped out the back door and unbolted the service gate to the alley that ran along the back of the houses. Fifteen minutes later she was on the subway headed towards Shinjuku Station.

* * *

"Nothing available at all?" Risa rubbed her forehead as she pleaded with the young woman behind the hotel lobby reception desk. "I'm happy to switch rooms tomorrow if you can get me something for just one night."

"I apologize, Ootori-sama," the woman repeated, "but we are at capacity tonight." She was smiling pleasantly, but Risa could see a hint of annoyance straining the corner of her eyes.

Risa's hand moved from her forehead to the back of her neck. It was stupid, that _this_ would be what made her want to cry. It wasn't like she couldn't take a taxi to another hotel. After all that had happened tonight, it was ridiculous that discovering there was no room at the inn would turn out to be her breaking point.

The receptionist's eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of something past Risa's shoulder and she hurried to straighten her back and smooth her hair with one hand.

"Is there something I can assist with, customer-sama?" asked a smooth voice from behind Risa. She startled and turned around, meeting violet-blue eyes that were equally as surprised. "Kyoya's princess!" Tamaki exclaimed, his face breaking out in a wide grin. "Of course, you must be here for the genetics conference." He turned to the young woman behind the desk. "Is there a problem with her reservation Yoshida-san?"

"N..no _Kaicho_ ," the young woman stammered, clearly off-balance at realizing the early arriving customer was a friend of her boss. "It..it's just we are at capacity and Ootori-sama's reservation isn't until tomorrow night."

"I understand." Tamaki's tone was genial, but there was a touch of sharpness to it. "Transfer Risa-hime's reservation to the Presidential suite," he ordered. "Check your records, you'll find that it is available all week."

"Y..yes _Kaicho_." The woman began typing furiously. Their company chairman's presence in the lobby was causing a flurry of activity among the employees. In the time it took for Tamaki to rearrange Risa's hotel room a man and woman had scurried up from different directions and introduced themselves as the General Manager and Front Office Manager respectively. Tamaki briefly acknowledged them before excusing himself and Risa.

"It will take them a few minutes to prepare the room for you." He took Risa's hand, tucking it into his elbow in a show of western chivalry. "We can relax in the lounge until then."

She was about to object to leaving her bags but they were already being stacked onto a cart by an enthusiastic bell boy. Too tired to fight, she allowed Tamaki to pull her along in his wake and he guided her towards a dimly lit raised area filled with comfortable looking chairs and sofas. A waiter appeared at her side the instant they settled in. Before she could object, Tamaki ordered her a cosmopolitan and a glass of bourbon for himself.

"I'm sorry for causing trouble for your employees." The lounge commanded a view of the lobby and she could see the poor receptionist getting some kind of lecture from the Front Desk Manager. "It was really my fault for not calling ahead."

"It's no trouble." Tamaki followed her gaze over to the reception area. "And Yoshida-san is only being reprimanded for not noticing the VIP tag on your reservation. The minute she pulled it up she should have contacted her supervisor who would have found a way to accommodate you. Don't worry," he smiled reassuringly, "This is her first week on the desk so she'll just receive a lecture and additional training. I'm not that much of a tyrant."

Perhaps it was that this was his place of business, but Tamaki seemed different. Risa found him as charming as always, but somewhat calmer and almost relaxing to be around. "How did you know my favorite drink?" Risa asked when her cosmopolitan arrived, trying to remember if she'd ever mentioned it.

He smiled enigmatically. "Lucky guess? Knowing what will make a customer happy is my business, after all."

She was tempted to laugh at the idea of something this simple making her happy after… her thoughts veered away from confronting the memory head on. Risa took a sip of her drink and set it aside. Alcohol was a depressant and she was already half-way down that road. "Thank you," she said. "For the room. You didn't have to. Coming here early was rather impulsive of me."

He waved his hand magnanimously and winked. "I can't have Kyoya's princess spending the night at an inferior hotel."

The adrenaline that had kept her going since leaving the office abruptly faded, leaving her feeling empty. "Why do you call me that?" she asked softly.

"Princess?" Tamaki sparkled and touched the fingers of one hand to his chest in an elegant gesture. "I've always believed that all women are princesses."

"No," Risa replied, cutting off whatever spiel he'd been about to deliver. "Kyoya's." She could feel moisture prickling at the back of her eyes and she blinked furiously to keep it at bay. "I'm not his anything. Not even really his partner..." After all, partners should be able to trust each other.

Not for the first time tonight she told herself that she was being unjust towards her husband. The misapprehension was all due to her making false assumptions. Truth could only hurt when your expectations didn't align with reality and she had always preferred to meet the world as it really was. All she needed was some time to adjust. Some time to re-calibrate and make sure that from now on she worked from a valid hypothesis.

Tamaki set his drink aside and leaned forward in his chair, capturing her gaze with his own. "Risa-hime, if there's a problem you can tell me. I love Kyoya like a brother, but I know he can be… difficult sometimes. You can trust me." His eyes were so compelling, offering up unconditional sympathy and support."Maybe I can help." The urge to share her troubles was overwhelming and Risa opened her mouth.

"Suoh- _kaicho_ , the room is ready." Risa's head snapped back and she closed her lips on whatever she had been about to say. Next to her, Tamaki directed a frown towards the bowing General Manager who had interrupted the moment. "I would be happy to escort Ootori-sama personally," the man continued, oblivious to his boss's displeasure.

"Thank you." Risa stood to accept the General Manager's offer. His intervention had come just in time. Kyoya wouldn't thank her for opening their private life to scrutiny even, or perhaps especially, to a friend. She bowed towards Tamaki. "It was a long day. I should probably get some sleep."

"Risa-hime…" his eyes pleaded with her to accept his offer of help.

"Everything is fine, Suoh-san. " Risa forced a smile on her face. "I simply wanted to have more time here before the conference started. Thank you again for accommodating me on such short notice." She walked quickly towards the elevators, the General Manager scurrying to catch up behind her.

* * *

Risa waited patiently for the manager to apologize once again for the receptionist's error, to show her around the suite, to point out the flowers and welcome gifts housekeeping had placed, to offer a tour of the hotel, and to finish all the other things he seemed to feel she was entitled too. Finally, thankfully, he left.

She shed her clothes, pulled on cotton pajamas and wrapped the fluffy hotel robe around her. When that wasn't enough to warm her numb extremities, she crawled into the bed and buried herself in the covers.

It was only then that she allowed herself to cry.


	19. The Revelation

"Risa, what the hell is going on?" A newspaper, folded to the society page, slammed down on the hotel dining table in front of her, causing the uneaten muffin on her plate to jump and some of her precious, precious coffee to spill.

She looked up through bleary eyes into the enraged expression of the blonde giant before her. "Good morning to you too, Ryan." Picking up her mug with both hands she savored another long sip, feeling the energizing effects of her favorite xanthine derivative beginning to do its work. "I thought you weren't arriving until later today. Conference check-in isn't until this afternoon."

Ryan plopped down into the chair next to her. "Arrived two days ago. The situation in Hokkaido's contained and I got a few days off so came to explore Kyoto a bit." His eyes softened from anger to sympathy and he leaned over to tap the quarter-page photo on the newspaper in front of her. "Now stop avoidin' the question and talk to me, darlin."

Risa set aside her cup. The fingers of her right hand reached out and ghosted over the photo of Kyoya and Katsumi taken at some society function this past weekend. The caption below was bland – something about Ootori Kyoya escorting the lovely Mitzusaka Katsumi… blah,blah,blah… business relationship between the two families… blah, blah, blah… could a new merger be in the works… and so on.

In society page speak it was nothing less than gross speculation that the two were having an affair. All couched in the most discrete and oblique way possible, of course.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, Ryan," she replied. There was no point in talking about it, she'd only be whining. Besides, over the long night she had come to terms with the situation.

Mostly, she'd come to terms with it.

Probably, she'd come to terms with it?

She pushed the paper away with a sigh, resolutely turning her eyes away from the photo that made her stomach twist and turn in ways that shouldn't be physically possible. It was just taking too much time for her body to realize what her mind was telling it.

Ryan waited until after the waitress had taken his order, interpreted through Risa, for a full western-style breakfast with as much eggs, bacon, and hash browns as they could fit on a plate before speaking again. "You know," he said casually, stirring five cubes of sugar into his black coffee, "I could make him disappear if you want."

Risa snorted at his predictable response. "I'm serious!" he protested with a squinty-eyed look worthy of Clint Eastwood. "I got'a couple boys in Special Forces who owe me a favor."

Her snort turned into chuckles and finally into a broad grin. What was that saying about good friends would help you bury a body? Apparently best friends were willing to provide the corpse. "Thanks, but it's okay." Her laughter trailed away too quickly and she gave a small shrug. "Besides, he hasn't really done anything wrong."

"Nothin' wrong, huh?" Ryan arched an eyebrow skeptically, anger thickening his accent even further. "So you mean to tell me, he ain't sleepin' with her?"

The very question that had kept her up most of the night. Risa flushed and looked down at the table. "I… I don't know. Maybe?" Her fingers nervously pulled her muffin into smaller and smaller pieces she made no move to eat. "But, he hasn't broken any promises to me. And…it's probably my fault, anyway. It isn't like we have a real marriage."

Ryan's face twisted in a scowl. "I don't know what line of bullshit he fed you," he growled, "But God gave men right hands for a reason and not screwin' around on your spouse is one of them." He clenched his hand in a fist and pounded on the table, scattering pieces of torn muffin on the table cloth. Risa shushed him, all too aware of the curious stares from the few other late breakfasters surrounding them. "Some promises between a husband and wife are implied," he continued in a low hiss.

Risa could only chuckle, although she found nothing humorous in his words. "You know, sometimes I realize just how American you really are. And how much I'm not." She stared into the depths of her mug, trying to find the words to explain. "I've always told you that marriage for me would be different," she said, "But I don't think you ever quite got that. Kyoya and I… neither of us went into it thinking it was a love match, or even expecting it to turn into one. It's just a contract. Between him, me, our families…" Ryan's face kept growing darker the more she talked. She gazed intently at him, willing him to understand. "He's a great Chairman, he protects my company and my research, and he's always treated me with respect both in public and private. He's done all that is expected of him so I have no right to complain."

Maybe if she said it enough times, she'd start to believe it.

"I can't believe you're defending that coldhearted bastard," he growled.

Risa's eyes kept returning to the picture showing Kyoya smiling coolly down at an unbearably smug Katsumi. "He's not, you know," she said softly, voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't care if his parents were married, he's still a bastard."

"No. I mean coldhearted. He's not coldhearted at all." She used her index finger to graze over the smile she hated so much when directed at her. "This? This is just a mask he wears." The tight, knotted feeling in her stomach slowly moved upwards, relocating to her chest. "I've seen him, you see, with the people he really cares about. The people he lets his guard down around. I think he'd destroy the world and everything in it just to make sure they were happy." The knot in her chest twisted violently, pierced by regret that he didn't include her in that inner circle. The picture blurred as a sheen of moisture coated her eyes. "When you feel that strongly, you have to insulate yourself to avoid getting burned."

The waitress, returning with Ryan's order, came just in time to prevent the tears from spilling over. Risa took advantage of the distraction to discretely swipe at the edges of her eyes with her napkin. Once the server had left, she lifted her head to look at her friend only to find him staring at her strangely. He blinked once, twice, and exhaled his breath on a small sigh. "You're in love with him."

"What!?" Risa recoiled in shock, laughing at the absurdity. "No! I just…" She faltered, gasping in short sharp breaths that only made her heart beat faster. "Oh God, that's what this is, isn't it?" she wailed as realization dawned.

Reaching out towards that damnable photo, she traced Kyoya's image almost longingly. "It must be! Because I look at this picture and part of me wants to cry or vomit or… or hit something!" She tilted her head back and gave a forlorn little laugh. "And another part is almost happy. Happy, because I can tell he doesn't care for her. That smile on his face is the one he gives to everyone. To people who don't matter. And I can't help thinking that if what's between them is just physical, than maybe I have a chance."

Ryan reached out and covered her hand with his. "Ris…"

"How pathetic is that? I tried so hard to avoid it, too." The tears she'd thought were done with last night welled up and she blinked furiously, trying to prevent them from causing a scene. "I always thought love was just… biochemistry," she said ruefully. "Nature's way of tricking us into propagating the species. I thought all I had to do was avoid triggering the release of certain chemicals and…" She trailed off, shaking her head in dismay at her naivety.

Ryan squeezed her hand again gently, his face a mix of sympathy and sadness. "Sometimes, for all your smarts, you can be pretty dumb. Love, real love? It's somethin' that can't be explained. All you can do is accept it for what it is."

Risa's brow furrowed and then widened in surprise. "You're in love with someone, aren't you? That's why you know this." She squeezed his hand back. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"No point," Ryan replied with a shrug of resignation. "She's never loved me, and I accept now that she never will."

"Unrequited love." She smiled in sympathy. "I guess we have that in common." With another squeeze she let go of his hand and rested it idly on her coffee cup, stroking the handle idly up and down. "What am I supposed to do now?" she moaned under her breath.

Ryan sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He looked off into the rest of the restaurant for a minute and then gave a sharp nod of his head as if deciding something. "I s'pose I'm just an old fashioned guy," he said, returning his attention back to her, "But my folks raised me to believe marriage is somethin' special. A sacred bond that you don't go interferin' in and you don't walk away from without givin' it all you got." He raised his right hand and curled it to point at her sternly. "Forget all this nonsense about contracts or arrangements – if you don't like the _status quo_ then change it. If you love him, if you think he's the kind of guy worth tryin' to hold on to, then do whatever you have to do to fight for the marriage you want to have."

Risa nibbled on her bottom lip. The marriage she wanted... was that even possible? Having him return her love was out of the question. But, maybe, there were some things that could keep her heart from breaking.

That is, if he were open to renegotiation.

She closed her eyes and slowly nodded. When she reopened them, she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath to fortify her nerve. "I think it's worth it… he's worth it." For the first time since yesterday evening, she could feel her insides unknotting as hope took root. "As we say over here, I'm going to do my best."

"That's my girl!" Ryan smiled broadly and gave her a wink. "But if you change your mind - all I'm sayin' is that I have a squad of Army Rangers on speed dial."

Risa laughed in actual happiness for the first time that morning and gave him an impulsive kiss on the cheek. In the back of the dining area, partly screened by a large ficus, a pair of violet-blue eyes watched the entire exchange.

* * *

"Kyoya!" The agitated man who had burst into Kyoya's office clutching a folded newspaper in his hand wailed plaintively, "What's going on?"

Kyoya's typing didn't cease or falter in the slightest. "Good afternoon, Tamaki. I thought our usual lunch meeting wasn't until Thursday." Kyoya looked up from behind his laptop, eyes focused on the woman just behind the hyperactive blonde's shoulder who had a phone already pressed to her ear and an irritated expression on her face. "It's alright Kimio-san," he told her, "But please have security stay on standby in case my friend needs to leave in a hurry."

The secretary nodded and hung up the phone. With a lingering glare at the unexpected visitor, she discretely closed the door behind the two men.

Tamaki threw the newspaper in his hand down on the desk, targeting it to land just on top of Kyoya's right hand and forcing him to finally pause his typing. The brunette picked it up and glanced at the picture indifferently before setting it aside. "Thank you for the paper, but Kimio-san makes sure I receive all the news I need."

"Kyo-yaaa! Answer me!" Tamaki whined, flopping down in the visitor chair and sprawling his legs out. Kyoya frowned at the former Host King's presumptuousness in making himself at home and narrowed his eyes sharply. Tamaki shrunk under the weight of the glare and hastily pulled himself upright. "What are you doing escorting Mitzusaka Katsumi anywhere?"

The picture in the newspaper stared up at Kyoya accusingly. He'd known it would lead to speculation the minute it was taken, but that was all it was. Speculation he could handle. Interfering friends, on the other hand? Kyoya pushed his glasses up with one finger and let the light glint off them menacingly. "Nothing that would concern you, Tamaki."

Surprisingly, the blonde idiot remained un-cowed. Tamaki leaned forward, resting his arms on Kyoya's desk and propping his head up with one hand. "Did you know that Risa's in my Kyoto hotel crying her eyes out?" Disappointment in his best friend lurked in the depths of his wide violet-blue eyes, causing prickles of discomfort to crawl up Kyoya's spine.

"Of course I know where she is," Kyoya snapped. "What kind of amateur do you take me for?" The memory of last night, when his security team had first reported her missing and the back gate ajar, rose up in his mind - triggering his heart rate to quicken as it had then. He hadn't panicked at the news - panic implied lack of control over a situation – but he had been… concerned. After all, concern was the normal emotion one would feel under the circumstances. However a quick check of her credit cards gave her whereabouts and destination. A simple call to the Kyoto Branch of the Black Onion Squad had a security team in place to intercept her at the station and alleviated his… concern.

The man guarding the back alley who'd unwisely taken an unauthorized smoke break? Now on a permanent break from his employ.

Kyoya shook off the memory and returned again to the work Tamaki was rudely interrupting. The blonde was still staring at him with those accusing eyes. Kyoya sighed. Tamaki wouldn't stop bothering him as long as the overly romantic fool was convinced that somewhere, anywhere, a lady was unhappy and that it was all Kyoya's fault.

He brushed aside the unwelcome thought that this time Tamaki might be right.

"I'm sure you are mistaken about her disposition," Kyoya said placatingly. "She's a reasonable woman not prone to hysterics and we have a business arr…"

"A business arrangement! I know!" Tamaki threw up his arms in exasperation. "You say it often enough!" He stood suddenly and placed his hands on the desk, leaning forward so he towered over the man behind it. "God, Kyoya! You're the smartest guy I know, but in this area you're. A. Moron. Arrangement or not, no woman wants to see her husband's fidelity speculated on in the papers!"

A sharp stab of guilt pierced his chest, but he quickly dismissed it. Guilt was a useless emotion and he'd only done what he had to do. Kyoya pressed his lips together in a thin line. "Don't meddle, Tamaki, not in things you don't understand."

"I understand plenty. You're involved in some scheme that, for whatever reason, requires letting your wife think you are having an affair."

Kyoya blinked and sat back in surprise, momentarily off-guard at Tamaki's accuracy. "What could possibly lead you to that conclusion?"

Tamaki stepped back from the desk, rolled his eyes dramatically and crossed his arms over his chest. "Because I've known you for fourteen years. Mitzusaka-san is a two-faced snake who can barely string two coherent thoughts together. You wouldn't waste a minute on her if there wasn't some advantage to be gained." He dropped back in his chair, turning on Kyoya the full power of his puppy-dog eyes. "Talk to me, _mon ami,_ what's going on and why do you need to keep it secret?"

Kyoya pulled off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We're adults now, Tamaki, with businesses to run. You know as well as I do that some things can't be shared." He hooked the glasses back over his ears, putting back in place the first barrier between him and the world. "Even with friends."

"I know." Tamaki smiled wistfully. "It was easier, wasn't it, back then?" The two sat silently, lost briefly in the recollection of less complicated days until Tamaki broke it with a sigh, his breath exhaling on a loud huff that stirred the ends of his bangs. "I'm just worried about you, _mon frère._ For the last few months you've been happier than I've seen you since high school. I don't think I'm wrong in believing that it's more than just the freedom of running your own company. I'd hate to see you lose that." Tamaki's penetrating gaze made Kyoya want to shift in his seat, but too many years of practice in hiding his reactions wouldn't allow it. "I know you can be manipulative, even ruthless when you have to, but this? Letting your wife think you're having an affair? That's just cruel. And I've never known you to be cruel – not to people you actually cared about."

Kyoya looked away from eyes that sometimes saw too much. "Perhaps because the stakes were never this high," he murmured. Louder he replied, "Tamaki, it's just a misunderstanding. Right now she's only a little angry at me, but she's a pragmatic woman and will understand once I've explained. I'll resolve everything once she gets back."

The corner of Tamaki's mouth pulled up in a smile that didn't reach his eyes as he stood to go. "You know, I may not have your observational skills, but I know enough to tell when someone is about to shatter into a million pieces." He gave a Gallic shrug that didn't match the sharpness in his eyes. "Perhaps that blonde giant of an American she was with this morning can help put her back together. You'd be okay with that, right? You have a business arrangement after all."

There was no logical reason for Kyoya's skin to turn to ice at Tamaki's words. Or for his heart to thump in his ears, nearly drowning out what his friend said next. As Tamaki turned to leave, he looked back over his shoulder and held up a thin plastic card between his fingers. "For what it's worth, I set her up in the VIP suite." He placed the card down on the conference table near the door and walked out.

Kyoya stared at the sliver of blue plastic. Even if he wanted to, even if he thought there was merit in doing so, he couldn't accept the invitation it issued. Too many tasks demanded his attention. Too many meetings for tomorrow required his complete focus.

It was simply impossible.

The loud snap of the laptop closing reverberated around the room and chased away every distracting thought in his head. A moment later he was walking out the door, stopping only to slide the key card into his pocket on the way.


	20. The Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory warning up front. Married people are married. This chapter earns it's teen rating - no much citrus but if you don't want fluff, innuendo, or allusions you may wish to avoid or skim the last three sections.

Risa stepped out of the large glass-enclosed shower, wrapped an over-sized towel around her, and curled her toes contentedly into the large bathmat. Like the towel draped around her, it was white, fluffy, and felt more like fur than cotton. She stood for a moment, enjoying the feel of the soft fabric underneath her feet and mentally debating the merits of slipping into the bath tub for a soak.

She hadn't realized it was possible to have a bathroom like this. The shower took up the full width of one wall, had six showerheads of various types and pressure (including a waterfall!) and a bench in the shape of natural bolder. The tub taking up the other side was kept constantly full of warm water that circulated through a rectangular wooden sluice and was large enough to hold four people. And probably had.

Deciding against a soak in favor of a relaxing night planning her conference schedule, she stepped over to the vanity instead. A wipe of her hand cleared the steam off the mirror and she turned her chin right and left, critically assessing the woman staring back at her. Her appearance, at least, had improved from this morning. The shadows under her eyes had receded and the pinched, unhappy expression was gone. She knew she had good food, lots of caffeine, and the energizing debates with colleagues over dinner to thank for it.

It had almost been enough to make her forget she'd committed the sin of falling in love with her husband.

The shoulders of her reflection drooped and she gave it an unconvincing smile. It was easy to talk about doing her best, but how the hell was she supposed to _act_ on that declaration? It's not like she could actually _tell_ Kyoya that she loved him, it would only burden him. He was, by nature, more considerate than he let on. He would do what he could to avoid hurting her but, eventually, he would come to resent her for placing expectations on him that he'd never agreed to. It was unfair to demand that he change simply because she had.

Reaching up to the top of her head, she released the band which held her hair in the messy bun she'd put it to keep it out of the spray. Long black tresses, curling in waves from the humidity, tumbled down past her shoulders. She picked up the brush from the counter and pulled it through her hair forcefully, as if she could draw away her unsettled thoughts with each vigorous stroke.

She couldn't tell him, but she also couldn't go back to the civil relationship they'd had. Couldn't go back to being cautious, enforcing boundaries, trying to erect a wall between them - all in a futile attempt to guard her heart. Risa put down the hairbrush with a thud and met her own eyes.

No, not couldn't. Didn't want to.

She wouldn't deny it anymore. All her life she'd believed in facing reality as it was. The laws of the natural world weren't influenced by beliefs, or prejudices, or anything as subjective as 'feelings.' And if you tried, if you ignored what was there in favor for what you wanted to see, you ended up with failed experiments and faulty conclusions. She gave herself a wry smile, realizing she was reflexively arranging her thoughts into a rational argument.

_Fact:_ She loved him and he didn't love her.

_Fact:_ Trying to fight against it or spending time wishing it was otherwise would only result in heartbreak.

_Fact:_ Love was a type of activation energy, now that it had been introduced the bonds between them would start to rearrange and the final result was outside of her control. Unless it ended, unless love ceased, then at best she could only slow things down.

_Conclusion:_ If she wanted to find contentment, possibly even happiness, then the best course of action was to commit to loving Kyoya unreservedly and without condition.

Even if he never came to care for her.

Even if she had to learn not to expect anything more than what he'd agreed to give her.

' _Even if you have to share his attentions?'_ her heart whispered traitorously, making a mockery of her careful logic.

She closed her eyes and tried to quell the wave of dizziness which had washed over her. _'Yes,'_ she told herself, _'Even if I have to share his attentions.'_ There was no other choice – it was either accept all the facts or slowly turn bitter and hateful.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes. The woman in the mirror was staring back, jaw set in shaky resolve and she gave herself an encouraging nod and a whispered ' _Ganbatte.'_ Heart swelling with tentative self-confidence, she opened the door, stepped into the bedroom, and screamed.

* * *

Kyoya quietly let himself into the suite, loosening his tie and shedding his suit jacket before the door had fully closed behind him. He removed both and laid them over the back of an armchair, taking care that they wouldn't wrinkle, while his eyes searched the room for traces of occupation.

Only one glass sat on the fully stocked bar. One lanyard and welcome gift bag lay on top of the eight-person dining table. He didn't check the office behind the closed doors on his left - a single laptop bag propped against the coffee table told him that there would be nothing, and no one, in there. The floor-to-ceiling windows running the length of the room were dark. Nobody was out in the private Japanese roof garden beyond.

The lights in the front room were dim, but enough to guide his path to the bedroom doors on his right. He hesitated before them, loosening the buttons of his shirt where they choked his neck, then knocked lightly. No answer came and, recognizing the low 'whish' he heard coming from inside as the sound of a shower, he opened the door and walked inside.

The lights here were dim as well, only ambient light from two large cloth-covered fixtures behind the king-sized bed illuminated the room. A single set of feminine clothes was thrown haphazardly across the cream comforter and he breathed out a sigh of relief, body going slack as he released tension he hadn't known he was carrying.

Kyoya stilled, shock lancing through his chest. Was that really what he had been doing? Searching the suite from the minute he'd entered for signs of an affair? He turned to stare out the window opposite the bed, frowning at the faint reflection in the glass. Did the idea of Risa with Ryan, of Risa with _anybody,_ really bother him that much? It shouldn't, he knew it shouldn't… but somehow it did.

He forced himself to face the thoughts he'd been avoiding since Tamaki's visit, made himself dwell on a mental image of Risa laughing as her arms wrapped around a giant's waist, tilting her face back and parting her lips as her eyes lowered in desire. Shaking his head vehemently, he stumbled backwards towards the wall opposite the bathroom door. His gut was twisting in giant coils of anger and fury pounded in his breast.

Closing his eyes, he cursed under his breath. All his life he'd made it a point not to lie to himself, not to allow himself petty delusions that would only undermine his ability to reach his goals. He needed to face the truth - that he recognized this feeling too well. It was the same one he felt every time he saw his brothers get accolades and responsibilities only their order of birth entitled them to.

He was jealous.

His impromptu journey made sense now. At least, more so than when he'd been telling himself lies for all four hours of the trip down. He wasn't here simply to straighten things out, here just to reassure her that the papers were full of lies. He wasn't only here to find a way to let her know that there was nothing between him and Mitzusaka.

In a way, it was a relief. Four hours and he still hadn't figured out how to assure her without giving the game away - he had no intention of telling her the full story yet. The phantom thief holding their research was still out there. Who knew what resources he had at his disposal, what sources of information he had? The wrong word at the wrong time could derail everything Kyoya's hand-picked team had spent the last week working towards. And the risk was especially great here at a conference crawling with rivals, competitors, and spies. He shouldn't even be here, being seen could unravel everything just as easily. It was a risk he didn't need.

He leaned against the wall, removed his glasses, and pinched the bridge of his nose. This new discovery was as troublesome as it was unexpected. It would be better for his plans if he turned around and headed straight back to Tokyo.

But he couldn't do it.

No. He wouldn't do it. Wouldn't find some way to act blasé while she went to another man. He replaced his glasses and turned the corner of his mouth up in a bleak smile. Ootori pride and possessiveness always caught up with you in the end. Nobody in his family was very good at sharing, at least not anything they considered valuable.

Fine. That was just the way things would have to be. Risa was a reasonable woman; he would simply renegotiate the terms of their arrangement with her. Calmly. Rationally. Explaining all the logical reasons why this would be the best move for them both.

The sound of the door opening startled him from his reflections and he realized the sound of the shower had ceased a few minutes ago. He rationally organized his thoughts, planning out what he wanted to say, laying down in his mind the arguments that would convince her.

And then she stepped into the bedroom and his mind went blank.

He faintly heard her yelp of surprise as his eyes roamed over her. The light from the bathroom shone through her hair, forming a bluish-silver halo around her head. The soft, disheveled curls, the skin flushed from the heat, the damp towel clinging to the curves of her body – she looked soft, touchable, and exactly like a woman just risen from her lover's bed. Or ready to be tumbled into it.

Light played across her skin, sparkling off the drops of water pooling against her delicate collarbone before overflowing and sliding slowly down over the swells of her breasts to disappear behind a very thin, very easily removed towel. His body tightened; every muscle like an overwound spring on the verge of snapping. Fierce need hit him like a tsunami, consumed him, and fanned the flames of his jealousy, chasing away all ideas of rational discourse.

Screw their deal. She was his and his alone. It was time she realized it.

* * *

"Kyo… Kyoya," Risa stammered, "What are you doing here?" She clutched at her pounding heart, her body not yet registering that the figure leaning nonchalantly against the bedroom wall opposite her was not a threat. She started to calm down, only to be hit by panic of a different sort. There was only one thing she could think of that could bring him all the way here in person. She sent up a silent plea to any of her gods that might be listening, _'Watson, Crick, and Mendel – Please! Please, don't let it be the lab again.'_

He pushed off against the wall and, in her dread, she almost missed it - the unnaturally stiff way he held his body, the frigid cast to his expression, the impression of coldness rolling off him like clouds off liquid nitrogen. When he finally spoke, the temperature in the room dropped twenty degrees despite the mildness of his tone. "Where is he?"

Risa wrinkled her brow in confusion. "Where's who?" she asked, her mind preoccupied with analyzing his behavior. What happened that had him so upset? She could tell he was burying an intense emotion under layers of glacial implacability, like trying to cool a superconductor threatening to rise above its critical temperature. The words ' _not the lab, not the lab, not the lab'_ hammered over and over in her head.

He shrugged one shoulder indifferently. "Ryan. Your lover."

' _Not the lab, not the… Wait. What?'_ Her train of thought derailed and her eyes bulged out of her head. He thought she was sleeping with _Ryan?_ She convulsed on a smothered bark of laughter.

"Is he here?" Kyoya repeated, apathy dripping off every syllable. "Enlighten me as to how this works, does he visit you or are you preparing to go to him?" With every word he stalked towards her, drawing every closer, and her pulse leapt with each step. Unconsciously she backed against the wall as he advanced, but she felt no fear. Whatever he felt, whatever strange notion was running through his head, he would never harm her. When he finally reached her, hovering just on the edge of being too close, she could see nothing but ice in his eyes.

She still couldn't believe it. He thought _she_ was having an affair? For a second, she felt like she was perched unsteadily on the sharp edge of a cliff. The safe side, the side with even ground, told her to play it safe. Tempted her to draw herself up with pride, throw the accusation back in his face, and remind him that what she did in private was supposed to be her own. Damn. Business.

But the other side?

The other side had her looking up into eyes as brittle and sharp as solid mercury and whispered that he was not indifferent to her. It sang that, while it might be nothing more than wounded ego, this fierce emotion – this fire - was for her. That side called out for her to jump, even if she had no idea where she would land.

Like a good scientist, she plunged forward into the unknown.

"Kyoya, I'm not having an affair with _Ryan_." She emphasized the last word with a laugh, letting him know how ridiculous the very idea of it was. "I don't even look at him that way. Not…" She took a deep, stabilizing breath and reached her left hand up to cup his cheek. "Not the way I look at you."

She watched his face intently, only relaxing when she saw her meaning had registered. He closed his eyes, covered her hand with his, and turned his head to bury his lips in her palm. She felt a light shudder go through him, or maybe it was through her, she wasn't sure she could tell the difference. He lightly flicked his tongue against her hand and that time she knew it was her body that shivered. Electricity raced down her arm and split into little tributaries raising goose bumps over every centimeter of her skin.

He smiled - slow and sly, almost wickedly - and opened his eyes. Pools of warm, liquid quicksilver trapped her in place like a fly in the amber of her own desire. He drew her hand up around his neck, pulling her in until they were separated by centimeters, and she tangled her fingers in soft, silky hair.

Damp from her skin soaked into his dress shirt where she touched him, plastering it against the planes of his chest and abdomen. Her eyes slid to his perfect, perfect lips and she parted her own, inhaling sharply and making the fabric around her chest slide against itself. Suddenly, she was acutely aware that only a towel separated her from that heated gaze.

One warm hand came to rest on her hip, branding her skin through the fabric, and he lifted his other to her cheek. Risa fought to keep her breathing from moving the towel any further as he lightly stroked the backs of his nails up her cheekbone and into her hair. He ran his fingers through a lock of hair, gently tugging it when he brought it up to his lips. As impossible as it was, she still felt the heat of his lips race all the way up the lock, down through her neck and chest, and curl into a soft ball of fire just south of her stomach.

Kyoya heard the shaky breathing, felt the shiver rock through her and he hid his smile in the soft tresses entwined around his fingers. Exotic jasmine, sweet vanilla, and the hint of hotter spices wrapped around his senses, the scent as intoxicating as the woman in his arms. The knowledge that she wasn't having an affair rang through him like a bell chasing away evil, destroying the remains of jealousy and leaving nothing but passion and want demanding to be fulfilled.

"I'm not sleeping with Mitzusaka-san," he murmured, returning her confession while eliding the full truth. The lock of hair slipped through his fingers when she sagged against the wall, visibly shaken. A fleeting pang of regret twisted in his chest before he pushed it aside; his necessary lie had caused her more distress than he'd realized. Sensing an opening, he pressed against her, closing the remaining gap between them, and rested his forearms on the wall beside her head. "New agreement," he purred in her ear, "No affairs. Period."

Risa's eyes snapped open and she pressed lightly against his chest until he moved back. Her heart pounded, doubt and hope warring within her. "For… For either of us," she insisted, searching his gaze for any signs of trickery, any hint of a loophole. "Pl… Please, no tricks," she begged, "No clever wording. I… I need this to be binding on us both. I… I… can't…"

His features gentled and she thought she saw a shadow flicker briefly behind his eyes. "Agreed. No affairs." The backs of his fingers caressed along the side of her face and she turned, nuzzling her cheek against them. "For either of us."

His lips descended again, so slowly she found herself straining up to meet them, anticipating the point where they'd connect. The feather-light touch banished all remaining worries, drowning them under a blissful fog of pleasure where all she could think about, all she could feel, was him - the heat from his lean, muscled frame radiating through the towel, the gentle, insistent demand of his lips, the faint smell of cigarette smoke clinging to his shirt - the only thing betraying his calm mien. He only smoked when something unsettled him, when some idea or plan was boiling his brain past where he could keep it under control.

She smoothed her fingers over his chest, petting the steel beneath cotton softer than silk as if seeking to calm whatever agitation remained. Gliding her hands over the ridges of his muscles, she encountered the thin, hard circle of a button and undid it. Moving her questing fingers down, she unfastened the next. And the next.

Kyoya pulled his mouth off hers and moved it lower, nipping and licking along the edge of the towel.

The next button skittered across the floor.

He paused at the sound and she couldn't stop the whimpered plea for him to continue from escaping her throat. Straightening up, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight. She turned her head, laid her ear against his chest, and marveled at the rapid drumbeat of his heart. "Risa, if you don't want this then say so now." His chest shook with a wry chuckle that warmed her more than coffee. "Otherwise I'm not stopping – even if someone pounds on the door to say your lab is burning down."

She giggled and tilted her head back, lacing her hands behind his neck. Locking her gaze with his she replied, "Good. Because neither am I."

The smile he gave her as he lifted her up to carry her towards the bed made her fall in love all over again.

* * *

Kyoya froze in place, all movement stopping as his mind caught up with the information his body had just communicated. He looked down at the seductive temptress beneath him who only minutes ago had been clutching at him, urging him forward. Her eyes were screwed shut and her breathing shallow, but he couldn't detect any sign of tears.

Still, he was fairly certain. Admittedly, his experience in _that_ particular area was somewhat lacking, but he had definitely felt what could only be described as a… barrier. That thought was enough to dampen his ardor. Somewhat. At least tamp it down for the next couple minutes.

Probably.

"Risa, _liebchen,_ " he drawled, a weird mix of irritation and satisfaction lending bite to the endearment. "Was there perhaps something you should have told me before now?"

Her eyes snapped open wide and her expression was as innocent as her body had been until less than a minute ago. "Umm… No? I don't think so?" She scrunched her face up and looked mildly confused.

Irritation. The mixed feeling was definitely coming down hard on the side of irritation. The flush on her cheeks when he glared at her went some way towards mollifying it, but then she started squirming in embarrassment. He balanced on a forearm and reached down with his other hand to hold her hips still with a tight grip. His lips pressed together, forming a thin line which marked a border between determination and annoyance.

"I didn't think there was anything to discuss!" she exclaimed, understanding catching up with her at last. "I mean - the hymen naturally erodes in most women by their late teens."

He almost laughed. Only Risa, delightfully maddening Risa, would launch into a biology lecture now! But laughter would result in moving – not a good idea when he was so intently focused on avoiding just that.

"I'm kind of surprised you felt any…."

" _Liebchen_? Shut. Up." He almost added ' _and stay still, dammit_ '.

Risa rolled her eyes at him. " _Jawohl, mein Kommandant_ ," she said sarcastically.

"I appreciate that you've grasped the dynamic of our relationship," he replied dryly, "But I'd prefer to hear ' _Jawohl, mein Herr_ ' from those pretty little lips of yours."

She scowled. "You know, Pooja warned me you'd be bossy." Wrinkling her nose again she muttered, "At least, I think that's what she meant when she called you a 'dom.'"

He dropped his head to the pillow beside her and fought against giving in to his humor. Or his lust. Both were neck-and-neck at this point. "No. That's not exactly what she meant." His voice came out sounding strangled and his shoulders trembled with suppressed laughter.

She was blessedly, thankfully, silent for a minute, giving him time to regroup. Time for his mind to assert control and make sure the rest of him understood that the words 'gentle' and 'considerate' would be defining the rest of the evening. Sensing they'd both calmed a little, he picked his forehead off the pillow, moved his hand to her chin and tilted her head towards him. "How are you feeling, does it still hurt?"

She looked puzzled and he sighed. There was a script one was expected to follow in these situations but his quixotic little wife seemed intent on ignoring it.

"Um… no?" She replied hesitantly, "I mean it doesn't… didn't… that's a myth, you know. That it has to hurt. I guess it depends on... Well, on skill..." She turned so red he wondered if there was any blood left in the rest of her body. It was charming, since meeting her he'd thought that red was her color. He dropped a quick kiss on the bridge of her nose and indulged himself, wallowing contentedly in a glow of masculine pride. Skill. Enough so that there was no pain. That small compliment mattered more to him than any he'd received before.

But pride goes before a fall and his shattered when she started moving her hips around, exploring unfamiliar sensations. The thin edge of his control deteriorated rapidly. Forget gentle and considerate, he was in danger of acting like a teenage boy.

"It does feel a little… weird?" She continued to move and he gritted his teeth. "No offense, but is this all there is to it? It's, um… well it's _nice_ but I don't quite get what all the fuss is abou… Ah!" She gasped, eyes rolling up in her head, when he suddenly moved again.

He smiled. Well, that was one way to stop her chatter. If she didn't understand what the fuss was about, he'd be happy to demonstrate.

* * *

Risa lay on her side and stared at the wall, hands tucked under her cheek. She moaned contentedly and snuggled into the pillowy softness of the bed. Kyoya's fingers traced lines from her shoulder to her elbow and back up again, sending little tingles rippling along her nerve endings. The gentle caress was lulling her towards sleep.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked quietly, pulling her back to consciousness.

She almost asked 'what' before waking up enough to process the question. Oh. _That._ He seemed to think it was something of a big deal. A devilish impulse had her fake a gasp in mock shock. "You mean there's something that wasn't in that dossier Kyoya-sama had prepared on me? Tch. Heads will roll. Owww!" She yelped when he nipped at her shoulder.

"Tell me," he ordered, still softly but in a firm tone that made it clear he wouldn't stop until he got an answer.

"Didn't seem any reason to." _Gospodi, pomilui_! He was like a dog with a bone on this subject. If she didn't care, why should he? Maybe Pooja and Amy should have warned her that men got weird when they realized they were your first. Or maybe they just got weird when the woman wasn't the one freaking out about it. She shrugged, trying to dismiss it. "It's not like it would have changed anything."

"I would have been… gentler." Risa pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. So _that's_ what this was about. She should have known, didn't it always come down to pride in the end. He sounded positively disgruntled that he'd been caught doing anything less than perfectly. "I'm not sure either of us really wanted 'gentle,'" she replied both in truth and as a sop to his ego.

It seemed to work, the light stroking resumed and she had begun to think that was the end of it when he asked, "Why?" She sighed, knowing what he was really asking. Why now? Why not earlier? Why him?

That last question was one she was _not_ going to answer.

Turning over to face him, she propped her head on her elbow, mirroring him and bringing them face to face. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be a fourteen-year-old college freshman?" she began, answering the part of the question that wouldn't leave her feelings exposed. "All the men around you either treat you like their little sister or act as if just talking to you will get them arrested for pedophilia. And those that don't?" She smiled humorlessly. "Those you don't really want to get to know very well."

"Did anyone… any of them…" he trailed off as if unsure how to complete the sentence. It was strange to see him at even a temporary loss for words. Strange and slightly adorable.

"A couple. But nothing serious!" she hastened to assure him when hardness started to creep into his eyes. "My friends the otaku twins, Jacob and Victor – you know, from the nanotech project – they had almost a sixth sense for who was trouble. They and Ryan would have a 'talk' with whoever it was and I never got bothered again."

"Too bad," Kyoya replied, that roguish little smile of his playing on his lips, "I suppose I will have to reconsider my plans to have the oaf deported."

Risa giggled. "Don't tell me you're the overprotective type?" Her shoulders kept shaking, causing the sheet around her torso to slip down. When he didn't respond she looked at him and saw him staring at where the cover had been.

"No, Risa, not over-protective – possessive." _Aiya_ , his eyes were beautiful. Even more so without the barrier of those infernal glasses between them - like molten silver and just as hot. They flickered across her skin, burning her wherever they landed. It was embarrassing but she made no move to shield herself. Finishing his survey, his gaze came back to hers. "You'd do well to remember that."

She licked her lips and tried to swallow, unsure if that was a promise or a threat. And yet more unsure which one she'd prefer. "Any… Anyway," she stammered, pulling herself back to her story. "I wasn't a nun or anything. I did date – a high school football player when I was sixteen, a physics undergrad the year after that..."

"On second thought," Kyoya said, cutting her off sharply, "I'm not sure I wish to hear about your conquests."

"Oh, please! Obviously it never went anywhere with any of them. I'm sure it's a drop in the bucket compared to you." She held up her hand, palm facing him. "But I already know I don't want to hear about your past."

He reached his free hand and stroked along the side of her face with his knuckles. "Ah, but you see, I never _dated_ any of them so you have the advantage of me there."

Somehow, that didn't actually make her feel any better. With an aggrieved 'Hmph' she rolled over to her other side, pulling the sheet back up around her.

Kyoya's arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her back against him. "I'm sorry." His breath tickled against her ear and he adjusted her so her head was cushioned on his arm. "I teased a bit too much. Please, continue."

His chest was a solid wall against her back and she snuggled up against it, letting herself be enveloped by his warmth and strength. "I stopped dating when I was nineteen."

"When your father died?" She wasn't surprised that he'd put the pieces together.

"Mmm," she agreed. His death in a car accident had been a shock, waking her up from any girlish dreams of romance she might have had. "That was when I knew that I would have to marry to secure the future of my company. Not immediately, but someday. I didn't see the point in getting involved with someone I'd just have to say goodbye too."

"You didn't try to fight against it?"

"No point. Reality is what it is. Besides, fighting would be like denying my family. My heritage."

Kyoya was quiet, hearing his own sentiments spoken back at him. He couldn't quite bring himself to give voice to the tenuous happiness he felt knowing this shared trait was responsible for her being in his arms right now. It was too fragile. Words would give it shape and that might make it shatter. For now, he'd simply accept it and refuse to delve further into the reason behind it.

Risa rolled onto her back and looked up at him. "Not that all that many guys were interested anyway," she said, giving him a self-deprecating smile, "Turns out many men just aren't attracted to women who are smarter and more successful than they are."

Kyoya frowned and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Many men are fools." Although he was glad for their idiocy, he disliked that someone had ever made her feel inadequate. "I have no problem with the fact that you _may_ be smarter than me."

She laughed. "But not more successful? I guess we are more than equal when it comes to our chosen fields."

He lifted an eyebrow at her. "Seeing as how I am, technically, your boss, I think the point goes to me."

She grinned, the light of mischief glowing in her eyes. "Seeing as how I only follow your orders when I agree with them, I beg to differ."

"True." She gasped as his lips fluttered against the soft underside of her jaw and he smiled against her skin. "The submissive does hold the power."

"Huh?" Risa asked as the past started fading from her mind under the powerful sensations of the present.

His chuckle tickled against her skin. "I'll explain later. For now, there are far more interesting things I could make you beg for."

He reached up to remove her hands from his neck, lacing her fingers with is and pressing them lightly against the pillow by her head. The look in his eyes as he moved to hover over her sent a shiver running through her body. "And as punishment for withholding vital information, this time I think I'll be very…" He nipped, then sucked away the pain on the lobe of her ear. "Very…" His tongue flicked out to trace the outlines of her clavicle. "Gentle."


	21. The Truth

_'Beep-beep-beep-beep._ _Beep-beep-beep-beep._ _Beep-beep-'_

"Ow!" Risa's wrist slammed against the nightstand after bouncing off what must have been the snooze button. Opening sleep-caked eyes, she stared at the blurry red numbers until they finally resolved into useful data. The flashing '8:02' had her cursing and scrambling to push herself upright. How had she slept so late? She always set her alarm for 6:00.

Wait a second! She swung her legs around abruptly and sat on the edge of the bed. This alarm was a sleek silver and black number out of a futuristic sci-fi show while hers, the one always set for 6:00am, was in the shape of an adorable zombie gnawing on a brain. Blinking confusedly, she took in her surroundings. As sleep and caffeine deprived as her brain was, she was quite certain this was not the room she'd fallen asleep in.

She checked her memories of last night for gaps but they were surprisingly clear. The conference had ended Friday, but some of her foreign colleagues induced her to stay a couple days longer and act as their guide-slash-translator for the weekend. When she'd finally made it home late Sunday night, she'd headed straight to her room, pulled on shorts and a t-shirt, and collapsed on her bed.

The bed which clearly wasn't this one.

She cleared the sleep out of her eyes and looked around what was definitely not her room. Instead of her cheerful bedspread the exact color of a freshly drawn vial of blood, the bed was covered in a dark-and-light grey striped comforter with a high enough thread count to make it gleam like satin. The furniture was all gloomy black wood and not laboratory-clean white melamine and, most telling of all, her enlarged microscope prints were missing, replaced by framed photos of the same seven people she'd spent most of her summer with.

Well, at least she knew where she was. Now, just how did she get from downstairs up to Kyoya's room?

A vague, hazy dream of snuggling against a warm chest and being cradled in two strong arms which carried her up the stairs pushed its way to the forefront of her thoughts. She shook it away, dislodging the remaining cobwebs from her brain in the process. That had to have been a dream. There was nothing for him to gain by moving her – she'd been far too tired last night for anything but sleep.

She glanced at the clock again and sighed; she'd already wasted eight precious minutes thinking about useless things. Standing up, she padded out of the master bedroom, through the adjoining upstairs office, and down the stairs. As soon as her feet hit the bottom landing and sleek, furry blur launched itself at her from across the room and entwined about her ankles. Risa threw her arms out to keep her balance as Noel did his best to make her trip.

Reaching down, she scratched the kitty behind his ears and received a happy purr in response. More than the empty echo of the great room, the cat's friendliness told her that Kyoya must have already left for the office. No matter how many treats she fed him or snuggles she gave, the minute his master appeared Noel would abandon her, making it abundantly clear where she fell in the pride hierarchy from his feline point of view.

Just in case, she listened carefully for sounds of movement before concluding she was every bit as alone now as she had been the morning after 'The Night.' The thought brought a self-mocking smile to her lips. Apparently, at least in her mind, last Tuesday night was assuming an import worthy of capitalization.

Perhaps this was the pattern she should expect from now on – nights in his bed and mornings alone. All things considered, if that was the type of relationship he was offering than she would be satisfied. Bemused, she wondered if he'd left another note for her on the dining table. The last one had been vintage Kyoya – unsentimental, sarcastic, just a tad domineering and yet almost sweet. It had read:

_Risa,_

_I tried to wake you up earlier without success. Since you were still breathing, I could only assume you were alive and let you be._

_I have a morning meeting and need to return to Tokyo. I've ordered breakfast to be delivered at 7:30am. Eat it. Knowing you it will be the only nourishment you get all day._

_Enjoy the conference. I look forward to watching the video stream of your presentation. We'll talk when you return home._

_Kyoya_

Heading back to her bedroom to get ready for the day, she couldn't quite shake the gnawing unease in the pit of her stomach. That last line of his utterly non-romantic 'morning after' note still struck her as ominous. She was far from being an expert on relationships, but even she knew that nothing good _ever_ came of the word's 'let's talk.'

He was probably already regretting it. Common sense would dictate that adding sex to their harmonious working relationship would only complicate things unnecessarily. Or he could have changed his mind on the new terms of their agreement. In the cold light of day, he would have realized that committing to one obviously inexperienced partner would be rather burdensome. And those were just the best scenarios she could think of.

Whatever it was, it was bound to be something she didn't want to hear. So much so that she'd purposefully delayed returning home in order to avoid it as long as possible, deliberately timing her return for after he would be asleep. But avoidance could only work for so long - sometime today her luck would run out.

* * *

Tachibana was waiting for her the minute Hotta pulled the car into the small, underground garage. He opened the backseat car door for her and held out a hand to assist her out. "Good morning, Risa-sama. Could you please accompany me to the security office?"

She looked at her watch, it was just five minutes before the hour. "Good morning, Tachibana-san. I have a staff meeting at 9:00. Can this wait?"

"I'm afraid not. Your staff has been alerted that you will be otherwise occupied today and they've been assigned duties outside your lab."

Her blood turned to ice in her veins. "Has something else happened? Please, not another break-in."

Tachibana's granite face cracked into a reassuring lift of the corners of his mouth. "No, nothing is wrong Risa-sama." He lightly grasped her elbow and shepherded her towards the elevators. "It's very good news, but we can't discuss anything here."

He maintained his silence through the ride to the floor housing the IT department and during the journey through the labyrinthine halls to the interior of the building. Walking past his office, he stopped at a nondescript door sandwiched between a door on the left labeled 'server room' with giant 'authorized access only' warnings on it and another on the right simply labeled 'security.' From past visits she knew the room behind it contained banks of monitors displaying live feeds of the garage, building entryways, laboratory floor hallways, and other important areas.

The door Tachibana opened was unmarked but required both a badge and a key to unlock. Once inside she found a windowless room with a camera in the upper corner and only a bare table with four chairs – two on either side. A room whose purpose was clear from every Law and Order episode her criminal psychology-obsessed college roommate had forced her to watch.

"We have an interrogation room?" she asked, "Seriously? We're just a small biotech company, isn't this going a bit far? More importantly, isn't it illegal?"

Tachibana's lips quirked, but he quickly stifled it. "If you would wait here, Risa-sama." He side-stepped around her question and gestured her towards one of the chairs. "I'll return in a minute."

He closed the door behind him and she strained her ears listening for the sound of a lock clicking shut. She set her purse on the table and studied the blinking light of the camera. After about a minute, she walked up to the door and twisted the knob just to see what would happen. It turned easily underneath her hand and the door swung inward.

She shut it quickly with a bang and laughed at herself. The room was intimidating, but she was the owner of the company - it wasn't likely that they'd be holding her prisoner. Well, not unless Kyoya had plotted a coup. She actually entertained that possibility for a second before dismissing it. He was certainly capable of it, but she already let him run things his way so it probably wasn't worth his effort. Still, something about the cloak-and-dagger nature of the whole encounter felt like something out of an overwrought thriller.

She moved back over to the table and leaned up against it, crossing her arms and settling in to wait. After about five minutes she jumped when the door suddenly opened and Tachibana returned, this time accompanied by a young man carrying a cardboard box. Without being asked, she moved aside so the man could set his burden on the table before stepping back and turning expectant eyes on her. Nobody was offering a word of explanation, so she did what they obviously wanted her to do and gingerly opened the box. Inside were two plastic bins filled with rows of blood vials.

Her eyes flew up to Tachibana's face. "My samples? You got my samples back?" He gave the barest nod and she flew across the room, giving him a bear-hug that made his breath exhale in an 'oof.' "Thank you! Thank you! How on earth did you do it?"

"Please, Risa-sama, this is… this is... not appropriate." Tachibana pushed back against her shoulders, trying to disengage himself gently. His face was flushed a bright red and sweat beaded against his temple.

Risa gave him another quick hug, perversely enjoying that she'd found something which flustered the normally unflappable Chief of Security. Moving back to the table, she swept the box into her arms, cradling it against her chest like a newborn. Tachibana made a gesture and the young man came forward and held out his hands to her. Reluctantly, she turned the box over to him and forced herself not to whimper at the loss.

"We need you to confirm that these are the samples that were stolen, Risa-sama," said Tachibana, "For security reasons, we can't involve any of the other lab personnel so may I ask you to run the test yourself? Maita-san will guard the samples until the tests are complete."

"Of course, I'd want to do it personally anyway," she replied, hands itching to check every centimeter of those precious vials and make certain that they were complete and free from tampering. "What about the research? Did you get that back as well?" She held her breath for the answer. Recovering the samples meant nothing if her work was still out there available for sale.

Tachibana gave a small smile and nodded. "We've confirmed that every file we identified as stolen was recovered."

"But… it's electronic data. Are you sure it's the only copy?"

"Yes," Tachibana's smile grew wider but his eyes gleamed menacingly, "Quite sure."

Risa shivered and looked around the unnerving little room again. Just what went on here in the name of protecting her research? And, if she were honest, did she really care?

Tachibana ushered her out and she practically skipped the entire journey down to her basement lab. Maita trailed behind her slowly, carrying the box as gingerly as if it were an egg balanced on a spoon. Once behind the locked lab, she had him wait while she put her personal belongings in her locker and changed into her lab coat. She directed him through one of the doors opposite the break room and guided him through the procedures for entering the clean room, then had him sit unobtrusively out of her way while she prepped the samples for sequencing.

This was too important to make a mistake and she took her time, meticulously following every step required to make sure samples were free from contamination. Finally, after what seemed like hours, they moved back into the main lab where she put the vials in the sequencer. A soft hum filled the empty room when she hit the button for the final run.

"Is that it?" Maita squirmed a little on the stool he perched on next to the sequencer.

"That's it. The sequencer will take care of the rest. It takes several hours to run so you can relax." She waved over towards the door set into the wall lined with storage cabinets. "We have a break room if you want to be more comfortable."

Maita shook his head. "No, thank you, Ootori-sensei. Tachibana-san would expect me to maintain vigilance. Especially after all we went through getting them back."

Risa pulled off her latex gloves and dropped them in the disposal bin. Now that the fate of the samples was out of her hands, her curiosity was demanding to be satisfied. It was too far from the end of the day for her to ask Kyoya, she didn't want to disturb his work. Fortunately, she could see on the young man's face that he was yearning to share what obviously had been an exciting event for him.

"Since you'll be here a while, let me get you a cup of coffee." Risa went into the break room, leaving the door open so she could call out to him as she operated the Keurig. "Or tea? We have several varieties. What do you like?" The young man hesitated but she eventually badgered him into accepting a cup of French Roast. She handed him a mug and settled onto a stool next to him, sipping at her hazelnut flavored blend while she worked out her approach.

"I don't believe I've seen you around before, are you new to the company?" She began her interrogation innocuously, hoping to set him at ease.

Maita's gulped down his mouthful of coffee, unnerved to be casually conversing with someone so far above his position. "I've been a night guard here for a year before moving to the daytime team."

Risa widened her eyes and looked impressed. "Tachibana-san must have a lot of confidence to promote you so soon." His face beamed at her praise, reinforcing the youthful impression he gave off. The man was probably older than her, almost certainly older if he'd graduated college and worked for a couple years, but his puppy-like enthusiasm made him seem inexperienced.

Pretending to know more than she did, she declared, "And I know only the best were included on the mission to recover our stolen research."

Her bluff was rewarded when his cheeks turned pink and he averted his eyes. "Only doing our job, Ootori-sensei."

He couldn't hide the mix of pride and excitement in his eyes and she moved in for the kill. "Still, I am so grateful you managed to get my research back." She leaned forward and peered up at him through her lashes, shamelessly using one of the techniques drilled into her by her mother. Lowering her voice to a breathy whisper, she blinked her eyes rapidly as if trying to hold back tears. "I hope you weren't in any danger? I would hate to think that you could have come to harm, Maita-san."

"Oh, no. It went very smoothly," he hastened to reassure her, words tumbling out of his mouth faster than his thoughts. "Once we had the location from Mitzusaka we were able to surround it before any bidders arrived and nab the culprit."

Risa's entire world narrowed down to a single word. "Mitzusaka?" Her voice sounded so quiet, barely able to penetrate the roaring sound of her blood rushing in her ears. She dropped her pretense and sat upright on her stool. "You got the location from Mitzusaka Katsumi?"

Maita's eyes widened at the way the chairman's wife paled and his stomach sunk down to his feet as he realized he had possibly made a career ending mistake. "Ano… Sensei, please! I… I don't think I was supposed say any of that…"

Risa didn't acknowledge him. She felt helpless to do anything but stare at the wall and listen to the soft thrum of the sequencer. Mitzusaka Katsumi. Mitzusaka Katsumi had been the key to recovering the stolen data.

Risa cursed long and low under her breath, that son of a… Her lips hardened into a straight line. Everything. Everything she had worried about and tied herself into knots over. Everything had just been a lie.

Carefully, she put her coffee mug on the counter to keep from throwing it against the wall. She smiled at Maita in as reassuring a manner as she could. "It's alright, I was just unaware of the exact circumstances. Please don't be concerned, I am the owner of this company so you were right to tell me when I asked. Thank you again for your hard work, Maita-san."

She maintained her composure as stood up and headed for the break room, while she removed her lab coat and grabbed her things from the locker, and even through her return to the main lab.

"If you'll excuse me, I have some errands to run today," she managed to choke out to the anxious guard without her façade crumbling, "Please email me when the sequencer is done and feel free to help yourself to anything in the break room. I will leave you to your guard duty."

With that, and without having any idea where she would go, she took her leave and sailed out the door.

* * *

"Tachibana, report!" Kyoya barely looked up from his work to bark the order at the pale-haired man standing at attention in front of his desk. To his credit, Tachibana's face and body-language remained impassive in the face of his employer's ire.

"Risa-sama is still wandering around Tokyo. Last report had her browsing shops in Akihabara but she hasn't purchased anything. Do you want me to have her brought in?"

Kyoya took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to drive back the headache forming behind his eyes. As tempting as the thought was, he had to turn it down. "No, leave her. Nothing will come of forcing a confrontation before she's worked whatever's upsetting her out of her system."

Tachibana frowned in disapproval and grumbled, "Risa-sama has a habit of bolting when she is upset. It makes it difficult to keep an unobtrusive security team on her."

The criticism acted as a balm for Kyoya's irritation, it was comforting to know he was not alone in wishing his wife would stay put more often. He'd already followed her to Kyoto, he wasn't about to run around Tokyo after her. He used one hand to rub at his temples with his fingers. How had he ever formed the impression that she was a reasonable woman? A rational one definitely, but she got upset over the strangest things. He would have thought that discovering his entire relationship with Mitzusaka was nothing more than pretense would have relived her - not send her perambulating about the city in a snit.

If only that fool hadn't opened his damn mouth! No. If he was going to start thinking that way there would be no end to it. If only he hadn't had a meeting this morning, if only she had been easier to wake up when he carried her upstairs last night, if only she had come home on Friday, if only, if only, if only….

Thinking of what could have been was unnecessary, far better to focus on what was. He hooked his glasses back over his ears and flashed a bemused look at his Chief of Security. "I understand that my wife can be unpredictable, nevertheless I have the utmost confidence in your ability to adapt."

"Of course, Kyoya-sama." Tachibana bowed, accepting the circuitous reprimand.

"If that's all, Tachibana, you may go. I'll expect another report in thirty minutes."

"Yes, Kyoya-sama," replied Tachibana and pivoted smartly on his heel.

Kyoya tapped his pen against his desk in an annoyed tattoo. He was a busy man and had far better things to do with his time than keep track of his wife. His breath came out in an aggravated huff. "And tell that _baka_ to pack his things."

Tachibana turned back to face his young employer and nodded but seemed to hesitate before exiting.

"Wait." Kyoya contradicted himself, stopping the older man before he could leave. Reluctantly, he pushed aside his current feelings of frustration. There was nothing to be gained from losing what might be a valuable employee. Besides, showing mercy after a mistake often resulted in increasing the underling's sense of personal loyalty and dedication to his employer. "I'll leave Maita's fate in your hands, Tachibana. If you think he can learn from this, then knock him back down a level and let him prove himself."

"Very good, Kyoya-sama." The stoic man went so far as to crack a smile and Kyoya knew he'd made the right call. Obviously Tachibana found value in the young security guard and did not wish to lose his services.

The door shut and Kyoya readjusted his glasses, lifted his hands to the laptop keyboard, and returned to plotting the downfall of his enemies.

* * *

The front door shut behind Risa with a decisive click. Slipping off her shoes, she stepped up into the entry way and peered up the staircase. Kyoya's office door stood wide open in a silent invitation, the light from inside shining against the opposite wall.

Stomach roiling in anticipation, she placed one delicate hand on the banister, took a fortifying breath, and softly padded up the stairs. She'd put it off as long as she could, but there was no way around it anymore. No more running and hiding. It was time they had that _bloody_ talk.


	22. The Bloody Talk

Risa hovered in the doorway of Kyoya's home office. Not even the butterflies beating their wings against the walls of her stomach could prevent her from taking a minute to savor the view of the man in front of her. _Madre de Dios_ , he was beautiful – especially now, when he became the Kyoya that only existed behind closed doors.

Everything about the him only she knew took her breath away.

Maybe it was how his hair became more disheveled the faster he typed on the laptop resting on his knees. Or it could be how his usual polite smile had morphed into a goblin grin complete with a gleeful twinkle in his eye that told her that somewhere in the world someone had just learned the hazards of underestimating the third Ootori son. But, most likely, it was that she now knew exactly what lay beneath his crisp dress shirt with the rolled up sleeves that he'd unbuttoned just enough to show the shadows off his pectorals.

He paused his typing long enough to sip at the glass of whisky perched precariously on the sofa arm next to him. Only his profile was towards her, but she was certain he was aware of her presence. That he hadn't acknowledged her meant he was putting the ball squarely in her court to begin, letting her direct where the conversation would go. It was both sweet and manipulative at the same time. Nothing less than what she'd come to expect from him. With a deep breath for courage, she lifted her hand and rapped lightly on the door.

Kyoya looked up at her knock. "Welcome home," he said, deliberately keeping his tone neutral to mask his underlying irritation. Ten hours. For ten hours she had wandered around the city leaving him to stew. With a few quick keystrokes he saved his work and turned his focus on her.

"I'm back." She gave him a small, almost shy smile and crossed the room towards him with hesitant steps. Her large, doe-like eyes and halting gait made her resemble a deer walking into an unknown meadow. And, like the hunter he was, he waited patiently for her to approach.

He studied her as she drew nearer, perturbed that for once he couldn't quite read the direction of her thoughts. After years of practice, discerning the undercurrents flowing within any situation and directing them to his advantage was instinctual. Practically a habit. But now that facility was failing him and he was couldn't quite determine just which levers to pull to achieve his objectives. It wasn't because she was hiding her emotions, it was that there were just too many of them.

The way her teeth pulled at her lower lip betrayed fear and anxiety. The glint in her eye indicated determination and resolve. Her hands twisted together in what appeared to be agitation, but the force with which her fingers pulled at each other hinted at something more like anger. And the way her breath hitched as her eyes flicked from his face to his collarbone? That was just straight up lust.

He hid a relieved smile on recognizing the last one. Whatever else she was feeling or thinking, it hadn't affected that fundamental connection between them.

She walked toward him until she stood directly in front of him. He took a minute to indulge his own desire, following her hands with his eyes as she smoothed her skirt down over her hips. His gaze lingered on the tantalizing patch of stocking-covered skin between her knee and hem before returning to her face. Sinking down to sit on the coffee table across from him, her spine was so stiff it looked like it would break. A few more tugs on her bottom lip strengthened the resolve in her eyes and she reached out, shut his laptop with a snap, and moved it on the coffee table next to her.

"I have a hypothesis," Risa stated, her voice sounding unnaturally sharp to her ears. "Let me know if I get something wrong."

Wincing inwardly at her tone, she forced herself to moderate it. "Katsumi's never been… well, as my Aunt Mary would say – she's got more hair than brains, bless her heart." Kyoya's snort was loud enough to bounce off the walls and echo around the room. The thick tension between them dissipated and Risa dissolved into giggles. "I know. I know. I was _trying_ to be charitable.

"Anyway, back at school she was never the smartest, or the nicest…don't laugh!" she ordered, holding up a hand in emphasis when it looked like he might give in to his amusement again. "She wasn't even the most popular. But she did have a talent that gave her a great deal of power. She always seemed to know things. Things people would prefer kept secret."

She placed her elbows on her knees and leaned forward to prop her chin on her hands. She paused, waiting to make sure she had his full attention. "My hypothesis - Katsumi found out something. Maybe she was listening at doors, or it was something her father or brothers said, but she heard about an interesting new therapy that was coming up for sale. Her family must have planned to purchase it and she told you about it in order to…" Her brow furrowed in confusion. "What, exactly? That's one of the parts I couldn't figure out. Did she even know that it originated from our labs?"

Kyoya shook his head. "No, she was only aware of her family's intent to use it as the basis for a new biotech division."

"I see. She was making you a job offer. What was it? 'Leave Sakura and come be a VP at a real company.' Was that her pitch?"

"Close." He jerked his chin briefly in acknowledgement. "It was divorce you, marry her, and use the new division as a springboard to take over Mitzusaka Pharmaceuticals."

Risa blinked and tossed back her head, letting out a short, sharp laugh. "Wow. I didn't think it was possible, but she's even dimmer than I thought. She really doesn't know you that well, does she?"

Kyoya felt an unexplainable burst of warmth at her confidence in him and he favored her with a small, pleased smile. "I agree. Everybody knows that Ootoris don't divorce."

"Oh, not that." Risa waved a hand airily, "I mean that becoming chairman of Mitzusaka Pharmaceuticals wouldn't achieve your goals. They're part of a _keiretsu_ – the Mitzusakas don't even own a majority share. The more successful the company becomes, the more valuable the other shareholders would consider it, and the less chance there would be to sell it to the Ootori Group. You could never use it as a bargaining chip to take over the chairmanship the same way you can Sakura."

Kyoya's recoiled as if slapped and his smile turned downwards. Her confidence in him stemmed only from her faith in the breadth of his ambition. A tendril of something almost like regret tugged at him, whispering that he was the one to blame for that. He had been the one to imply that the 'no divorce' part of their agreement only applied to her.

"So, what did you do to them?" Risa asked, pulling his attention back to the present.

"Pardon?"

"Mitzusaka," she clarified, "I know Katsumi didn't realize whose research was being sold, but surely her father did and I can't imagine you letting something like that slide. So, what did you do to them?"

Kyoya's face rearranged itself into an impenetrable mask. "Nothing. Taking any type of overt revenge would be unethical and possibly illegal."

Risa crossed her arms and locked eyes with him. She couldn't quite keep the corners of her mouth from twitching but her voice was as dry as bone, "Of course. How silly of me to suggest otherwise."

His eyes sparkled with a glee he couldn't quite hide. "I assure you, there is absolutely no connection between their involvement in the auction and the fact that this morning Chairman Mitzusaka awoke to find all of his personal accounts frozen by the government due to suspicion of embezzlement." The corner of his mouth ticked up in what was clearly a gloating smirk. "It seems there have been repeated drafts from the company accounts to a Cayman Island account traceable directly to him.

"It is also pure coincidence that a copy of a confidential clinical trial for the company's new diabetes medication showing an associated increase in risk of heart attack was leaked to the public. Sadly, that drug is the only major product in their pipeline for the next five years and it's loss will significantly impact their earnings."

"What a terrible thing to do to someone," Risa said flatly. Kyoya's smile disappeared in an instant, his face once again void of all emotion. "Did you really expect me to say something like that?" she continued, unable to suppress her own delight. "They tried to steal from us. You could burn them to the ground and salt the earth and I wouldn't care."

The light crept back into his eyes. "I had no idea you were so bloodthirsty," he teased.

"Only against those who would harm us," she replied seriously. "I told you from the beginning, ruthlessness was one of the qualities I selected for. It would be hypocritical for me to get upset when you display it. When it comes to those who want to destroy us, you can do your worst."

His poker expression unbent enough for him to smile again, this one warmer as if beckoning her to share in his secrets. "Fortunately for Chairman Mitzusaka, I am not nearly as vindictive as my bride. It will eventually be discovered that the alleged embezzlement was a simple programming error and the Chairman will be cleared of all charges." The smile widened, becoming positively triumphant. "However, by that time the other members of the _keiretsu_ will have sold me enough of their shares to take control of the company. Two of the main five shareholders have already accepted what is a very generous offer given the company's current troubles."

She let out a soft gasp and shook her head in amazement. In one move, he had turned what could have been the end of their still struggling company into its resurrection. The acquisition of Mitzusaka Pharmaceuticals would expand Sakura from small to mid-size and give them enough of a product pipeline to survive until her cure for cystic fibrosis hit the market.

"And the others?" she asked, still reeling in astonishment, "They couldn't have been the only people who placed a bid."

Kyoya lounged back against the sofa like a chess player who'd just made the winning move, even if his opponent wouldn't realize it for several turns. "They will all be dealt with. In the proper time."

Oh sweet Machiavelli, he was sexy when plotting to rain death and destruction upon his foes! The urge to grab him, kiss him senseless, and drag him off to the bed conveniently located through the doors behind her was nearly overwhelming. It was so very, very tempting to just let things end here.

Looking at him sitting there complacently with his 'cat that ate the canary' expression, her stomach twisted into a painful knot. He was so certain that everything had been resolved, all sins forgiven now that his plans succeeded. Maybe if she didn't love him she could forget the pain that had driven her running from his office, the uncertainty and fear that still lurked in the depths of her soul. But she did love him and, if she left it like this, the tiny hairline fracture across her heart would eventually widen to a chasm.

She wanted… No. She needed him to understand what this game of his had cost her. Needed to know that he recognized it and cared enough to take steps to keep it from happening again. There was only one way she knew, that she could think of, to properly convey it. She had to tell him one of her secrets.

"Tell me, did that dossier you had on me happen to give the real reason I moved to America?" she asked abruptly.

Kyoya furrowed his brow at the apparent non-sequitur and shot her a questioning look, silently asking where she was going with this. "It was a rush job and contained few details prior to the last few years. I assumed it was because Japanese schools don't allow even the most brilliant to skip grades."

"That's partly true, but not the whole story. Ouran… wasn't easy for me." She gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "I doubt any school would have been, kids don't like people who are different and I certainly didn't have your charm to make my place at the top of the class more acceptable to them.

"I suppose the good thing about Ouran is that there's not as much outright bullying as you'd expect." She shrugged and tilted her head to the side, letting herself drift off into the past. "It's mostly just social inclusion and exclusion games – everyone is too aware that whoever they hate today could be a needed business partner tomorrow. There was one girl, though, who never seemed to like me. Who made it her mission in life to drive off any potential friendships and to make sure I was always treated as an outsider. As a freak who just didn't belong." Her eyes snapped back to his. "Want to take a guess as to who?"

"Katsumi," he muttered. She thought she saw a brief flash of emotion in his eyes, but it was gone to quickly for her to detect what one.

"Bingo." Risa forced a tight smile. "She was a bitch even at the age of five. But mostly a survivable one. As I said, not a lot of open bullying at Ouran – unless your family falls into poverty or scandal. Then you're fair game.

"The second year of Middle School is when everything fell apart. My parents' very, very bitter divorce became very, very public. Every day there were new lists of Japan's best, brightest, and most unfaithful in the papers as each of my parents started listing the other's lovers by name. It was THE scandal of the year. Probably of the decade. All across the upper echelons of Tokyo society couples were screaming at one another behind closed doors."

Unconsciously, she began twisting her braid around her right hand and her eyes slid to focus on a spot behind his right shoulder. "Adults are funny. They always forget just how few secrets they're really able to keep from their children – especially if they're little sneaks like Katsumi. Her father's name wasn't high profile enough to ever make it on a list, but she found out about his affair with my mother anyway. And, since she couldn't punish my mother or criticize her father, she took it out on me.

"Most of it was stupid, all the usual things – flowers on my desk, destroyed gym clothes, garbage in my book bag… the last bothered me the most. They ruined the copy of _Le Goût de l'immortalité_ Monsieur Belmont gave me for Christmas!" Risa's eyes widened in outrage. After all these years, the damage to an innocent book still struck her as her tormentors' most egregious sin. "And he'd even gotten it signed!"

"Belmont?" Kyoya interjected, "Sensei Belmont, the high school chemistry teacher? The one with the strange obsession about mold?"

"It wasn't an obsession. He was just…" Combing through her mind, she eventually settled on a better word. "Passionate. And deservedly so - he had the most amazing collection of fungi! We were always hunting for new types; you'd be surprised at just what kind of nasty things grew around that campus."

Her breathing changed, starting to grow fast and shallow as the flow of memories neared its destination. "One day, I received a note on my desk from Monsieur. It said he'd found a new mold specimen out in one of the storage sheds and, after classes, I went there to meet him." She felt her heart accelerate, the events from all those years ago still too real once she began to talk about them. "Of course, the note wasn't from him. I didn't see him when I arrived, but I stepped into the shed to make sure sure. Right as I entered, someone pushed me from behind and I fell to the ground. The door slammed behind me and I heard…"

She was nearly panting now and she closed her eyes, fighting to keep control. A tendril of warmth enveloped her left wrist and she looked down to see that Kyoya had encircled it with his hand. He caressed her pulse point in small, circular patterns with his thumb. Focusing on the hypnotizing motion, the gentle scrape of skin against skin, the tingling heat radiating up her arm, Risa slowly brought her breathing back to normal.

"I heard laughter, at least three people I think. But the only voice I clearly recognized was Katsumi's when she called out something about giving a 'little whore' time to reflect." She drug her eyes away from the thumb making patterns on her wrist and back up to meet his. The light glinted off his glasses, preventing her from gauging his reaction. "It was a Friday in January. There was some mix-up, possibly deliberate – my driver thought I was staying late to help Monsieur Belmont clean the lab and he thought I had gone home."

"How long were you in there?" he asked quietly.

"Almost thirty hours. Long enough for dehydration and mild hypothermia to set in." She paused a minute, letting that statement sink in. "Nobody realized I hadn't come home until Saturday morning and it took a few hours for them to search all the outbuildings. Ouran really is absurdly big."

His grip on her wrist tightened. "Your panic attack, the night of the break-in, that wasn't just claustrophobia." It was a conclusion, not a question.

"An inevitable reaction to trauma." She shrugged and looked away, dismissing it as a trivial consequence of her two nights in the shed. "It mostly happens when I feel trapped, small spaces by themselves don't bother me. Any combination of dark, trapped, cold or alone can trigger it, but trapped is the most predictable.

"I don't really remember much after the first few hours. When they found me, all I can recall is a lot of yelling – mostly my father, and a lot of apologizing – mostly Chairman Suoh. Neither of them wanted what had happened made public. Mother had just moved to New York and so it was decided me going to school in America would cover everything up nicely. It was actually the Chairman who suggested I might do better if I were allowed to start university early and pulled some strings for me."

"And why are you telling me this now?" His voice sounded cold and distant. Risa peered up at him, as she expected, his eyes were still shielded by his glasses and her hands itched to reach up and pull them off. To see just what reaction he was trying so hard to keep from her.

"Not for why you think." She chuckled dryly and rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't try to make you feel guilty for doing what you thought was necessary. It would be pointless. And, now that I know everything, I don't mind that you flirted with Katsumi and led her on to get the information you needed." Realizing that she hadn't actually confirmed her assumption she furrowed her brow. "That was all it was, right? You didn't, um…"

Kyoya performed whatever trick he did to make his glasses transparent again and she was caught up in eyes which burned as fierce and hot as molten steel. "I didn't so much as kiss her." He still held her wrist lightly in his hand and his thumb shifted to stroke over the sensitive, fleshy mound of her palm.

Relief washed over her but she did her best to hide it. She reached over and covered the hand sending little bolts of electricity coursing up her nerve endings and gently extracted her wrist from his grasp. "I told you in order to give you context for the rest of what I have to say. I wanted you to be able to comprehend just how much I… _dislike_ that woman and just how much I hated seeing the two of you together that day in your office. Because, as much as I couldn't stand seeing her hands all over you as if she had a right…"

Closing her eyes, she inhaled and held her breath before exhaling it slowly. When she opened them again, she could feel tiny prickles of moisture at the edges and she looked down at her hands on her lap to conceal it. "As much as I hated that, I hate even more that I even have to _ask_ you about your relationship with her. That I don't just know the answer because I can't tell anymore which of the things you've said to me are true and which are part of some game I don't even know you're playing. The one person I thought I could trust, that I could believe in, was you." Her hands fisted in her skirt, bunching the fabric, and she whispered, "I hate the fact that I don't think that anymore."

A sharp tug on her wrist caused the world to spin about. When it righted, she was sitting across his lap, his right arm around her waist anchoring her in place. She tensed, struggling without conviction against his embrace, but his arm held firm. He pressed his left hand gently against her head, tucking it against his chest and resting his chin on top. Stroking downwards from her hair, his fingers lightly trailed along the shell of her ear, along her hairline, and all the way to the base of her spine. Then lifted up and repeated the journey.

All of Risa's anger and hurt and fear were still present, but she could feel it beginning to melt away under the palm of his hand. She wanted to curl up against him like Noel and she laughed at the realization. It came out sounding like a purr.

Kyoya smiled at her little cat-like sigh of satisfaction and continued his soothing caresses, silently giving her the reassurance she craved in a way that would reach her on a level deeper than words could. Guilt was a useless emotion, but seeing the toll his actions had taken on her was the closest he'd ever come to feeling remorse. She'd looked so lost and forlorn after her outburst, so vulnerable and so alone. She nuzzled her cheek against him and rested the palm of her hand on his chest. Burying his face in her hair he inhaled the sweet, spicy scent of her shampoo and let hope replace regret. He'd hurt her, but it was salvageable. The body didn't lie and, despite what she had said, hers was telling him that deep down she still trusted him.

He shifted her in his lap so she faced him and lifted her chin to meet his eyes. "I didn't intend to hurt you. Or be put in a position where I had to lie to you." It was as close to an apology as he could manage. "She was never supposed to come to the office."

"I know. At the time, you only did what had to be done." She dislodged his hand with a sharp shake of her head. "What I don't understand is why you couldn't tell me what you were up to in the first place. If you had, then you wouldn't have needed to lie at all."

"At first, I wasn't sure anything would come of it and I didn't want to get your hopes up. Once I realized that her information was good…" Kyoya looked to the side, avoiding the wounded look in her eyes that tugged at his conscience. "I didn't know what resources the thief had or who might be aware of what he was offering for sale. I made the decision to keep things on a 'need to know' basis. The risk of exposure was too great." The reasons which had sounded so right at the time now just seemed hollow.

"Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead?" She asked, dryly quoting Ben Franklin. "That sort of thing?"

"That would be one way of putting it."

Risa cocked her head, evaluating his statement. Weighing it. Judging it. It made him uncomfortably aware that she was too close for him to effectively use his glasses as a barrier against her penetrating gaze. Coming to a conclusion, she slowly shook her head. "I don't believe you. I'm sure that's what you told yourself, but I don't think that's the real reason."

As if sensing that he needed some measure of privacy, some way to protect himself from view, she turned around so they were no longer facing each other and snuggled her back up against his chest. "I don't think you're used to sharing your plans with anyone if you don't have to. I'm sure never letting someone see your failures preserves that whole 'omnipotent' thing you've got going on, but I would guess it's more than that. I've met your family. Growing up, I doubt you could trust most of them for fear they'd turn whatever you were planning against you."

Kyoya's arms snaked around her waist and he pulled her up tight against his chest. He was more used to analyzing than being the one under the microscope, but he couldn't deny that everything she said rang true. Secretiveness was the Ootori way.

"Fuyumi and your friends you could trust, but they are… well, they are just too _nice_. Too willing to see the good in others, too inclined to worry about _how_ something is accomplished. You might be able to use them as an assistant, but not as a partner. There would always be the risk that they wouldn't accept your course of action."

"And you would?" he murmured into her hair.

Risa turned to face him, her brow knit in confusion. "Of course." She sounded vaguely insulted that he even asked. "People who think the ends never justify the means are just… naïve. The world doesn't follow rules of fair play and sometimes you have to fight back in kind. I know you're ruthless, but you aren't cruel. Some of the means you use wouldn't be considered 'nice,' but you are too good a person to hurt the innocent or retaliate disproportionately."

"You think far too well of me, Risa. I'm not as good a person as you seem to believe."

"That's for me to decide, isn't it?" Eyes as dark and welcoming as the shadows he called home drew him in, whispering that nothing he could say or do would turn them against him. "You told me once that a partnership needs some level of trust. Doesn't that go both ways? Unlike your family, unlike your friends, I _can_ be trusted to listen to your secrets, to not reveal your plans or use them against you, and to support and assist you in whatever way you need."

Pain pinched her face and shadowed her eyes. Her hands gripped the open sides of his collar, bunching the fabric between her fists. "But, please… promise me that you won't lie to me like that again. Not unless the stakes are high and it's the only way – not just the most expedient way, or even the best way, but the _only_ way."

Risa tensed, waiting his answer. She could practically see the calculations ticking away at lightning speed behind his eyes. She knew it would limit him, cut off some of his options, but she didn't think she could survive if she couldn't continue to believe in him. If love was a plant, trust was the carbon dioxide it needed to flourish.

"Agreed," he finally said and she released her breath with a relieved sigh. "But I need a promise from you as well." He cupped her chin with his hand and she felt her tension return in force. "Stop running from me, Risa," he demanded.

Risa swallowed nervously. "I… I don't know what you mean…"

"Yes you do." Steel grey eyes pinned her in place, giving her no place to hide. "When something upsets you, your first instinct is to run away – to your room, the lab, Kyoto… anywhere that takes you away from the problem. After what you've said today, I can understand it. I'm sure you had enough of conflict both at home and at school to last a lifetime. But I won't allow it to go on. Not between us."

All the ways in which her own behavior had complicated things flashed through her mind, painting her cheeks red with shame. He may have lied out of necessity, but she had chosen not to trust, not to give him the benefit of the doubt, out of fear.

His tone gentled from insistent to coaxing and he let his hand fall away. "My plans can move quickly, Risa, or I may need to adapt them on the fly due to a change in circumstance. I won't always be able to talk to you about it first, to cover every contingency in advance. I need you to promise that whenever I do something that upsets you, or confuses you, or even seems to betray you that you won't run. That you will choose to trust me until I can explain."

She closed her eyes and nodded. "I'm sorry. I promise, next time it happens, I'll stay to work things out." She pursed her lips together thoughtfully and added a caveat. "Well, at least I'll try."

"I suppose I can accept that," he chuckled, fastening his hands behind her back in a loose embrace.

Suddenly, she felt drained. Utterly exhausted from a conversation that had taxed all her emotional resources. Her hands still twisted in the fabric of his shirt, and her gaze slid from them to the smooth planes of skin revealed by the unbuttoned collar. She was done with talking. Right now she needed him. Needed to confirm the solidity of their relationship in a way that went beyond anything either one of them could say.

With more boldness than she'd thought she possessed, Risa swung around in his lap to straddle him and rose up on her knees. Sliding one hand beneath his half-open shirt, she plucked his glasses off with the other and tossed them lightly on the coffee table. Her mouth curled in pure feminine satisfaction when she heard his breath hitch and felt his hands tighten on her hips.

She stroked her free hand over the back of his neck and tangled it in his silky hair, pulling on it so his head tilted back and he looked up at her. "I think that was our first fight." Her voice was low and breathy, rumbling out from somewhere in the back of her throat.

Kyoya's hands stroked down along her skirt and began playing along the hem. "You're forgetting the one we had over the house."

"That wasn't a fight." His fingers made slow circles on the backs of her thighs, each one skimming under the hem of her skirt and raising it a little more. Risa's tightened her grip on his hair, struggling not to collapse. "That was just a disagreement."

His lips turned up in a knowing, lazy smile. "Then you're correct. This would be our first fight."

Leaning over him, she brushed her lips against his ear. "You know, I'm told there are certain… traditions for a couple after a fight."

"And what…" Kyoya broke off his sentence with a moan as she lapped along the thick cord along the side of his neck like a kitten. "…tradition might that be."

Rising back up on her knees she tapped her index finger thoughtfully against her cheek. "I believe the husband is supposed to buy the wife something sparkly and ridiculously expensive." Smiling impishly down at him she teased, "I still have my eye on that particle analyzer for the lab…"

She shrieked when Kyoya grabbed her waist and shifted her so she was lying on her back. He hovered over her, eyes gleaming like a predator who'd just found a very interesting preay. His long legs tangled with hers, pinning her beneath him on the couch. Lifting one hand to her neckline, he slowly unbuttoned her blouse, dropping a kiss on each revealed patch of skin.

"I believe," he drawled in between kisses that sent sparks of lightening coursing along her nerves and made warmth pool between her legs, "that the customary object is jewelry."

Risa squirmed against him as his hand slipped inside her shirt and traced the lacy patterns of her bra. "But I don't like shiny jewelry," she panted, fingers digging into his shoulders, "I _like_ shiny new lab equipment."

"I'll take that under advisement." Cool air brushed her skin and she realized her blouse was now completely undone. His lips followed the path of his fingers, driving away the cold with liquid heat. "Any other… traditions you can think of?" He asked, his breath sending shivers racing across her shoulders and down to the tips of her fingers.

"Just one." She grabbed his hair and pulled his mouth up to hers and kissed him with every ounce of hunger and need she possessed until both of them were shaking. Now it was her turn to undo his shirt, to revel in the contours of his muscles as she slipped each round button out of its hole and punctuated her words with a kiss. "You are supposed to use that textbook perfect body of yours to apologize to me." She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and lifted herself off the couch to nip at his collarbone. "And then I get to do the same to you."

The world tilted again and he was stalking across the room with her cradled in his arms. He stopped mid-way, just long enough to silence her squeals of laughter with a kiss that left her breathless. "If I'm going to apologize properly," he said, his eyes burning into her like melted silver, "I'm going to need a bed."

* * *

Kyoya rose up on one elbow and gazed down at his sleeping wife, softly brushing her hair away from her cheek. She gave a small sigh and stirred, but quickly settled back down. He knew from experience that she wouldn't wake until morning.

She loved him.

He'd turned it over in his mind again and again, looking at it from all angles. It was the only explanation. The only one that lined up with everything twenty-eight years of observing human behavior had taught him. She would not have been hurt that badly, or forgiven that easily, if she weren't in love.

Risa loved him. And he…

Kyoya turned over on his back and laced his fingers behind his head and stared up at the ceiling, analyzing how he felt about the woman he'd tied himself to.

In business, and in the roles society expected the wife of a potential Ootori heir to play, she was a perfect partner. But underneath those masks she was so much more. Generous, witty, intensely loyal, and very, very passionate. Someone who, from the very beginning, had looked at him and not his family. Someone who embraced everything about him, every corner of his soul both light and dark.

Somehow, without him realizing it, she had wormed her way into the small inner circle of people he called friend.

He couldn't deny that he cared for her. She was his and he felt compelled to protect her and protect the things that made her happy. He wanted to live up to her expectations, to preserve the innocent, child-like faith she had in him. But was that enough to be called love?

It wasn't like he had a great deal of experience or examples to follow in this area. His own parents had been in a state of cold war for as long as he could remember. Fuyumi claimed it had once been different, that there had been a time when they had at least treated each other cordially, but that had ended with the birth of his poor, lost older brother. Sometimes he suspected his own birth was nothing more than a way for his mother to atone for providing off-spring that didn't meet his father's demanding standards.

Yuuichi and his wife were no better, they lived lives so separate it was a wonder they had been in the same room long enough to produce two children. As for Akito, he fell on the opposite side of the spectrum. The battles between him and his wife were so fierce Kyoya half expected their relationship to end in a murder-suicide. Fuyumi… well, she claimed to love her husband, but sometimes he wondered if that was simply a delusion required by her relentlessly optimistic personality to cope with the reality of an arranged marriage.

No, there was nothing resembling love to be found within his family. An Ootori marriage was nothing more than a binding economic contract between two families with its only other purpose to produce a suitable heir. Other than that, each party was free to live their own lives as long as they avoided public scandal.

The only real model he had for what people called love were his friends – all four of them blissfully, annoyingly, happy with their choices. They also cared for their spouses and wanted to protect them, but there was something else. Something that transcended the feelings one might have for a close friend. It was that in each of them he sensed that they put the needs of the person they loved above their own. Time and again they had proved willing to endure anything, even to sacrifice the things they otherwise held dear – power, position, family, goals – if it meant the other's good.

With a sigh he turned on his side to face her, realizing that he had answered his own question. He liked Risa, but not so much as to give up his ambitions if he were forced to choose. That level of need for another person had always struck him as impractical. Something that would more likely destroy a relationship than strengthen it. Perhaps that meant he lacked the necessary capacity for self-sacrifice required for a person to be in love. He felt no sorrow or regret at the thought - love had never really been something he had planned on anyway.

He reached out and stroked his finger along Risa's cheek. For him, what they had now was better than he'd ever expected out of marriage. He might not love her, but that didn't mean he couldn't value the gift of her feelings for him. Silently, he added one more promise to the others he'd given tonight. He would do all the things that _were_ within his capabilities to treasure her love and make sure she never came to regret entrusting it to him.

For better or worse, it would have to be enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the beginning of the final arc where, hopefully, I will tie up all the remaining lose ends. Drama! Intrigue! Lots of Kissing (maybe)! All coming soon on This. Was. Not. The. Plan.
> 
> Or, maybe Kyoya finally goes full on dark-side and takes over the world with Risa whispering in his ear like Lady Macbeth the whole time. It could happen.


	23. The Gathering Storm

The next day, Kyoya hovered his mouse pointer over the email waiting for him in his inbox. The fact that it had come directly to his private email address, only known by a few, and that the sender's identity was transparently obvious didn't make it any less suspicious.

**Subject:** _Conference Pics!  
_**From:** _TexasForever45  
_**To:** _TheShadowKing  
_**Attachments:** _5  
_**Message:** _empty_

Reading over the scant details yet again, his finger hesitated to make the final move that would open the attachments. Curiosity finally outweighing caution, he pressed the right mouse button down firmly. He could always have his IT department perform a thorough sweep for anything malicious that may have been included.

The resulting images were exactly what they purported to be and he paged through picture after picture of Risa at the Kyoto genetics conference – her giving a lecture at the podium, surrounded by colleagues after a break-out session, drinking in a crowded _izakaya_ with a group of foreigners, engaging it what looked to be a heated debate with an older Japanese man. He chuckled at the last one, wondering which 'clearly outdated' opinion the man held that had set her off. Each image was more innocuous than the last, so harmless he was nearly convinced they were a feint hiding an attempted hack.

He was about to unplug his laptop, remove the battery, and have it dispatched to IT security when something in the last file caught his attention. The photo again featured Risa, this time eating breakfast by herself in the hotel restaurant, but something was off. Enlarging the image to full size he could see that, while she was in the center of the frame, both she and everything around her were slightly blurry, just the tiniest bit out of focus. The only truly sharp section of the photo was centered around the Chinese man sitting at the table right behind her.

Brow furrowed, he quickly went back through the other photos to confirm his suspicions. In each one, someone other than Risa was the actual subject. In addition to the first man, there was a Korean woman at the lecture, a black-haired man with a trim beard after the break-out session, a brunette Westerner with a buzz-cut at the _izakaya,_ and a black man in a white kaftan and kufi watching her argument from the fringes of the crowd.

Lifting his hand off the mouse, he clenched it in a tight fist. The sender's intended message was clear. Forcing his hand to loosen, his fingers flew over the keyboard and he forwarded the missive on to Tachibana with a note, flagging it as highest priority.

He needed to relax, to distract himself from thinking about something currently out of his hands. Tachibana would report as soon as any information was available so for now there was nothing more to be done about it. He pulled up the quarterly budget report and began losing himself in the comforting details of earnings, expenditures, and depreciation. In the soothing process of identifying opportunities for both gain and savings.

He was deep into his investigation of why travel expenditures for the Hokkaido sales force were two percent higher than any other division when a clamor from outside his office increased to the point where it disturbed his focus. Irritably locking his computer screen, he rose from his desk and stalked across the room to throw open the door. The words demanding an explanation for the din died on his lips at the sight of the fight in the reception area.

"Let go of me, you witch!" Mitzusaka Katsumi struggled against a firm grip on her upper arm holding her in place. "I'll have you fired for this!"

"Ootori- _kaicho_ does not receive visitors without an appointment." Kyoya's secretary replied calmly while easily holding the frailer woman in an iron-tight grip with one hand and placing a phone call to security with the other. "You will need to come back another time."

"Let. Me. Go. He'll want to see me!" Katsmui shouted at the plump, middle-aged woman restraining her, "He _has_ to see me!" The last came out almost as a sob.

"Kimio-san, you may release her," Kyoya interjected, causing both women to stop and face him. "I've been expecting her arrival."

Kimio dropped her hand immediately and bowed. "Of course, Ootori- _kaicho._ Shall I fetch some tea?"

Kyoya shook his head and headed back into his office, not waiting to see if Katsumi followed. "Not necessary. She won't be staying long." Behind him, he heard the soft click of Kimio shutting the office door. The sound echoed in the room with the finality of a slam.

Walking over to his desk, he leaned back against the edge and crossed his arms. The pose was reminiscent of the last time Katsumi had been in here, only this time he knew his expression was much less genial. Lifting one eyebrow, he silently put the onus for starting the conversation fully on her shoulders.

It didn't take long.

"What the hell is this about?" Katsumi flung the folded newspaper in her hand at him. It hit his chest with a soft thud and fell down on the floor, landing face up to display a headline blazing 'Government Weighs Charges in Mitzusaka Pharmaceuticals Embezzlement Case' above a picture of Katsumi's father coming out of his office and shielding his face from photographers.

"It would appear your father is having some difficulties." He shrugged one shoulder indifferently. "But that has nothing to do with me."

Katsumi's ire floundered against his wall of implacability and her shoulders drooped. "Father says this is your doing." She slipped into the breathy, little-girl voice she used when trying to wheedle something out of him. The one that caressed his ears like fingernails on a chalkboard. "He says its revenge because the technology I told you about was stolen from you. He…" Her breath appeared to choke on a repressed sob.

She moved towards him then, her hips rolling in a seductive walk that she had most likely practiced in front of a mirror for hours to get the affect she wanted. "He… he says it's all my fault, that if I hadn't told you what I knew then none of this would have happened." She peered up at him through her lashes. "He said my Kyo-chan was just using me." She laid one hand against his bicep and gave a look meant to be alluring. "But, I know that's not true because you… you love me. You're going to marry me..."

He shrugged off her hand, grasped her by the upper arms, and gently set her back away from him. "Mitzusaka-san, I believe the stress of your family's situation is causing you to imagine things."

Katsumi's face twisted in fury, revealing her earlier demeanor as nothing more than a mask. "Bastard!" she hissed between closed teeth. "You can't do this to me! My family has lost everything - money, social position. Nobody will even take my calls! You can't abandon me like this - you… you made promises. I'll sue you for… for marriage fraud!"

Kyoya's chuckle was as dark and hard as his granite expression. "Go ahead. I'm already married to a beautiful, intelligent, accomplished woman from a good family. Nobody will believe your allegations."

Her hand flung up to slap him but he caught it easily. Any sympathy he might have had for her unwitting involvement in his plans had vanished, but he kept his annoyance in check under an icy demeanor. "If you search your memory, you'll find I never gave you any promises, any assurances. If you proceed with this farce it will only be to your detriment."

He dropped her wrist and walked around the desk. Opening the top drawer he withdrew a thick envelope and tossed it down in front of her. Katsumi's hand snaked out, grabbing it off the desk and opening it. Crisp ten-thousand-yen notes poked out. "What's this?" Her lips drew back in a snarl but she clutched the envelope tightly.

"Consider it payment for your help in retrieving what was stolen from me. There should be enough for you to start a new life somewhere far, far away from here." The smile he gave was completely devoid of any goodwill. "I hear Hangzhou has plenty of opportunities for people who are multi-lingual and you did study Mandarin at Ouran."

Her thumb flicked over the cash and he could see her mentally adding it up faster than a calculator. "This is nothing. A pittance. I have dresses that cost me more than this."

"It's fortunate, then, that you have resources which can be sold if you need more cash."

"It's not enough. Not even close." A sly look crept into her eyes. "I'm sure your wife would be very interested in the lengths you were willing to go to seduce the information out of me…"

"Do not presume you can blackmail me, Mitzusaka. This has nothing to do with guilt or obligation." Kyoya crossed his arms and allowed the civilized veneer he had been maintaining to slip away, revealing the stone-hearted man beneath. He gestured towards the envelope grasped tightly in her fist. " _That_ is only because my wife somehow believes that I am a good man and I find I am reluctant to dispel her illusions."

Kyoya's eyes narrowed menacingly. "Take the money. Leave the country. It is the only opportunity you will get. I assure you, should I see you anywhere near my wife you will quickly find yourself to be quite friendless and alone in Japanese society." His lips thinned and turned up in a smile that would not be out of place on a tiger. "So alone that I suspect you would feel as if you were trapped in a cold. Dark. Place."

For the first time since walking into his lair, Katsumi had the good sense to show fear. "Wha… what did she tell you?" Her face paled and she was unable to keep her voice from shaking. "You can't believe her! She always was a little liar, just like…"

He held up a hand and she shut her mouth with a snap. "Don't make me reconsider my generosity." Reaching down under the rim of his desk he pressed a button hidden in the woodwork. The door flew open almost immediately and two tall, muscled, black-suited men walked inside and stationed themselves on either side of the now trembling woman. "Security will see you safely out of the building. It is your choice whether you leave on your feet or over their shoulders."

Kyoya sat down behind his desk and returned his focus to his work, ignoring her sputtered protests.  
" _Sayonara_ , Mitzusaka," he called out just as Kimio shut the door behind them, "May your new life be everything that you deserve."

* * *

Kyoya watched a flash of scarlet weave across the ballroom towards the buffet table. An elderly lady, the wife of one of the Ootori Group subsidiaries' Presidents, stepped in front of it and brought it to a graceful halt. He smiled and sipped his wine, imagining the cool, polite look on Risa's face as she inwardly plotted mass-murder to prevent revealing just how bored she was to the matron chattering away at her.

Not that he could see her face. The old woman had stepped around to the side, forcing Risa to turn, so that instead of his wife's profile all he could view was her back. He really should send the President's wife a thank you gift for that.

The red silk dress the twins had sent her after their return to New York last month, along with a snide note about updating her fashion choices, was a simple fitted sheath and demure enough to be worn by a first lady. But only from the front.

From behind, it was a masculine fantasy brought to life.

The silky folds of the dress cascaded from her shoulders in a soft, loopy, drape of fabric that reached all the way to her lower back, stopping just at the point where any further would transform the amount of skin she was showing from tantalizing to indecent. The soft, pearly sheen of her skin and delicate contours of her shoulder blades were an open invitation to all sorts of things that would be far more entertaining than the interminable social event they were both stuck at.

This particular Saturday night event, a wedding anniversary celebration for Shoji Oil's chairman, was taxing even his abilities. At barely an hour in, he'd already talked to everyone of interest or of use to him and was now forced to kill time until it was socially acceptable to leave. Looking at his watch, he calculated just how far away they were from the congratulatory speeches, suppressing a sigh once he reached the conclusion of 'too damn far.'

Across the room, he saw Risa lift her hand and touch an area just below her collarbone. She must have received a compliment on the necklace he'd bought her – a paper-thin wire of platinum woven in the form of a double-helix and inset at strategic points with diamonds. He shook his head and repressed a secret laugh. She really should have known better - as if he were the type of man to give a woman lab equipment!

After he slid that wickedly tempting dress off her shoulders, he might insist she leave the necklace on. He looked at his watch again and frowned. Maybe he could feign illness.

"Kyo-yaaaa, you haven't listened to anything I've said!" The plaintive wail assaulted his ears and he rolled his eyes, turning to address his companion.

"Of course I did, Tamaki. You were telling me that your off-spring is, at five months in utero, the 'most amazingly brilliant child on the face of the planet' and you are utterly convinced that you caught her performing differential equations using just her fingers and toes at the last ultrasound."

The blonde's face fell and he muttered, "You know, I really hate it when you do that thing where you don't listen but hear every word I say..."

"Also," Kyoya continued relentlessly, "Haruhi refuses to let you paint the entire house in what you describe as 'princess pink' but which the twins insist remind them of the color of an American stomach medication. And she is being very unreasonable about not letting you name the baby 'Princesse Himina Amira de Grantaine Suoh,' preferring something 'totally boring and predictable' like Keiko – using the character for spring, of course."

"I keep telling her that _everybody_ names their children according to the season they're born in. _Our_ daughter needs something as special and unique as…"

Kyoya tuned the former Host King out as he blathered on, choosing to angle back to face the room and see where his wife had gotten to now. She'd finished with the matron and was heading back towards her original destination. Halting mid-stride, as if sensing she was being watched, she slowly rotated around to lock eyes with him across the room.

Draping one arm across her waist, she lifted the other to take a sip of wine and then tilted her head in a silent inquiry. _'What have you been up to?'_

He jerked his chin in the direction of an overweight middle-aged man trying to flirt with a girl half his age. _'Convincing the last Mitzusaka shareholder to sell out.'_

A widening of the eyes. ' _Successful?'_

Sharp nod in reply that was rewarded with a brilliant smile.

He lifted an eyebrow. _'And how's your evening going?'_

Tiny grimace hidden by another sip of wine. _'Can I poison someone yet?'_

The imperceptible shake of his head was met by a resigned shrug.

She lifted her fingers to touch the necklace looped around her neck. _'Thank you for the gift. I really like it.'_

Glass lifted in a small salute. _'It looks beautiful on you.'_ He unleashed the most seductive smile in his arsenal and glided his eyes from the necklace, down the contours of her body with pauses at key points of interest and back up to her face. Making sure she was watching he glanced pointedly at the ceiling and the hotel rooms above. Returning his gaze to her face, now a brilliant color which matched her dress, his smile switched to a smirk. Even after he'd spent a week thoroughly debauching her, she was still so easy to make blush.

Risa took a sip of her drink and locked eyes with him. Rising to meet his challenge, she began a slow, deliberate perusal of her own. Onyx-colored eyes caressed the planes of his chest and down his torso. He felt his stomach muscles involuntarily tighten when her gaze lingered on his abdomen before deliberately dropping to a point just south. Parting her lips, she darted out her tongue and slowly traced a path along her upper lip while her eyelids drooped half-closed with desire.

Already taut muscles responded with a short, sharp, jerk.

Cursing under his breath, Kyoya averted his eyes and drained the remainder of his drink to cover it. When he looked back, Risa flashed him a triumphant smile, winked and turned away to speak with some debutante who was probably trying to secure an invitation to his birthday party next month. Damn. He shouldn't have started this game when there were still hours to go before they could leave.

It was only then he realized that the steady stream of chatter from the Suoh chairman had ceased some minutes ago. Glancing at his friend out of the corner of his eye, he saw the idiot beaming in a wide, goofy grin.

A server walked by and Kyoya switched out his glass, pointedly ignoring his companion. Tamaki vibrated next to him with the repressed excitement of an untrained puppy and Kyoya finally acknowledged him with a sharp, "What?"

Tamaki looked from Kyoya to Risa and back again. "No-thing," he sang. "You two just… seem to be getting along…"

"I suppose," Kyoya replied in the absolute certainty that the non-committal answer would drive the meddlesome blonde crazy.

"Kyo-ya!" Tamaki rolled his eyes dramatically on cue. "Come on! Two weeks ago you were fighting and now… well, _now_ it looks like the two of you want to do the exact opposite of fighting right in the middle of the ballroom. What happened?"

Kyoya glowered over the rim of his glasses, but after fourteen years it had lost what little effect on his exuberant friend it might have ever had. "Unlike you, I do not spread about the details of my private life like locker room gossip."

The Frenchmen recoiled in outrage. "I don't gossip about Haruhi!"

"Really," drawled Kyoya, "So you didn't call me in panic after your first 'accidental' kiss? Or again after your first 'real' kiss? Or after your first date? Nor did you burst into my room in Boston the morning after the first time you two made…"

"That wasn't gossip!" The people milling around frowned disapprovingly at Suoh's outburst. Taking a sip of his drink, he lowered his tone. "It's not gossip if you know it won't be shared."

A sly smile crossed his face. "But what your examples tell me is that something good _did_ happen in Kyoto!" Elegantly touching his fingertips to his heart in a dramatic pose, Tamaki pronounced grandly, "Keep your secrets, _mon ami,_ I am just grateful that I was able to play some small part in smoothing the rocky path to true love…"

"Oh for god's sake, Tamaki!" That self-satisfied smirk grated on every one of Kyoya's nerves and his fist clenched. One of these days he would murder his best friend and nobody would convict him for it. "Stop making it more than what it is."

"But… but…" Tamaki sputtered, iris-colored eyes blinking like a puppy who'd been kicked instead of petted by its master. "You two _have_ to be in love!" His expression changed, becoming faintly disapproving. "Please don't tell me you're back to that whole 'we have an arrangement' nonsense."

"What I'm saying is that it's none of your damn business," Kyoya growled.

"Of course it's my business, Kyoya," the blonde replied with simple sincerity. "You're my best friend and I want you to be happy."

"Who says I'm not?" Tamaki's face started glowing again and Kyoya moved to douse it. "I keep telling you that love is not essential to my happiness. I am content with the way things are and _that_ is all I'm willing to say."

The Host Club Prince opened his mouth to spew some sort of romantic drivel. Tonight Tamaki's Gallic insistence on romance as the path to happiness irked Kyoya more than usual. It was uncomfortable – like a too tight suit or something prickly against the skin.

Seeking to end the conversation, Kyoya glanced around the ballroom and used the first thing that came to mind. "Isn't that Haruhi over by the sushi? You know, I've heard doctor's in America consider raw fish to be potentially harmful for the baby. Something about mercury levels or parasites…"

As expected, Tamaki's head whipped round and he took off running across the floor shouting, "Haruhi put down the Ootoro and step away from the buffet table!" at the top of his lungs.

Kyoya sent a silent apology across the room to the woman he considered his other best friend. He'd have Risa sit Tamaki down for a lecture on 'stupid unscientific health scares driven by journalists who couldn't properly read the results of a clinical trial if it meant getting the Pulitzer' later to make it up to her. For now, though, he needed to get away from both bothersome conversations and too enticing little red dresses.

* * *

Kyoya rested his forearms against the terrace railing and took in the skyline. Mid-October Tokyo weather was a crapshoot – predictably cool but with an equal probability of rain, sun, or thundershowers on any given day. Tonight, however, was almost perfect - crisp and clear with the faint tang of decaying autumn leaves scenting the air.

The cigarette nestled between the fingers of his right hand glowed a faint red in the dark before him. While he did occasionally indulge when he wanted to think something over or on those rare occasions he needed a little extra help in appearing calm, this one was mostly a prop. An excuse to be out here alone instead of playing nice with people who weren't of any use to him.

"Nasty habit ya' got there, Mr. Atari," drawled a voice in English from the darkened alcove to the left of the doors. The man who emerged into the circle of light that surrounded Kyoya somehow managed to look even taller and wider in a suit than he had in the blue jeans and button shirt he'd worn the day they'd first met.

"Mr. Wagner." Kyoya took a drag of the cigarette, not betraying any hint that he'd been surprised. "Is making mysterious pronouncements from the shadows an innate trait or something they teach you in spy school?"

Ryan gave a bark of laughter and walked over and stood next to him, crossing his arms and leaning his over-large frame against the railing. "I'm not a spy. Spies have cover stories and secret identities. Far too many people know my real job for me to call myself that."

Kyoya resisted looking down to see if the Texan was wearing his cowboy boots. "What would you call yourself, then?"

"A janitor. At least, I seem to spend a heck of a lot a time cleanin' up messes." Ryan reached in his jacket and took out a carton. Shaking it, he plucked out a slender cigarette which he held out to Kyoya in the universal gesture for 'got a light.' Kyoya obliged, touching the ends together until the American's own bit of indulgence started to smolder.

"I thought smoking was a nasty habit," Kyoya snarked.

Ryan shrugged. "Dangerous world out there. If the cigarettes get me first I'll have lived a good life." Lifting it to his mouth he inhaled, threw back his head and let on a long breath that sent smoke spiraling up into the night. "Nice work with the Mitzusaka thing, by the way."

Kyoya gave a brief nod, accepting the praise.

"Thief connected to anyone I should worry about?"

"No," replied Kyoya, recognizing that this was an opening salvo in the game of trading information. "He purchased the information he needed off the dark web and managed to find someone in my IT Department with a gambling debt to assist him. I'm still working to trace who placed the information up for sale in the first place."

"Guy still alive?" Ryan's eyes glittered with dark amusement.

"Of course, I'm not a murderer." Kyoya slanted a look at the blonde out of the corner of his eyes. "Since no charges could be filed without making the theft public, my men dropped him off safe and sound in front of the headquarters of the yakuza branch who's territory he'd been operating in. Pity he hadn't paid his proper tribute."

"Dang. You're meaner than a mama wasp when crossed, ain't ya?" Ryan shook his head, but it didn't seem like it was in disapproval. "Don't know whether you're a good guy who knows the lay of land or just a straight up super villain."

Kyoya smiled enigmatically and let Ryan form his own conclusions.

The two men stayed like that for a minute, each savoring their cigarettes and planning their next moves. Ryan was the first to break the silence. "The American company that placed a bid in that auction talked to a senator, who asked a general, who yelled at my commandin' officer, who ordered me to tell you that they are very, very, sorry and to ask you kindly not to hurt 'em."

Kyoya stopped mid-puff, choking on the lungful of smoke he'd accidentally inhaled. Ryan was almost as good as Risa when it came to conversational sucker-punches. Made sense, he probably learned it from her. "And those were their exact words, Mr. Wagner?" he asked dryly after regaining his breath.

The American waved his hand. "I summarized. Their exact words were 'they think your company is promisin' and they would like to extend you a ten million dollar line of credit.' With no interest or timeline for repayment, of course."

"I see. A blatant bribe. Americans can be so straight-forward about some things." He gave the benign smile of a cat who hadn't decided whether to play with his prey or eat it. "Tell them I'll consider it and get back to them with a counter offer."

"Cards on the table? I'm authorized to offer up to fifty million if it will get you to, in the words of the esteemed senator from Illinois, 'back the fuck off.' They figure it will cost 'em twice as much if you go after 'em."

"At least." Kyoya paused, turning the offer over in his head and weighing the cost of punishing them further than this. After another drag of his cigarette he gave a sharp nod. "You may tell them I find their terms… acceptable. Let them know that I look forward to doing business with them."

"Rodger that." Ryan smiled broadly and let out a smoke-tinged chuckle. "Useful talent, Mr. Atari, getting' the chicken to lay its own head on the choppin' block."

"It does make some transactions more convenient," replied Kyoya, unable to mask his smugness.

The Texan paused to take another drag of his cigarette. "You got the _smart_ folks runnin' scared of you now."

"Just the smart ones?" Kyoya asked, picking up on the faint emphasis Ryan had placed on his words.

"Well now," Ryan smiled humorlessly, "There's always gonna be a sum'bitch out there who thinks he's bigger, meaner, and stronger than you that needs to be smacked down." Another twist of smoke circled up into the sky and he shrugged. "You got my email."

The conversation had finally circled around to where it had always been heading. "Yes. Interesting set of attendees – a Chinese military officer, North Korean and Iranian scientists, a Russian 'businessman' and someone who purports to be a Nigerian humanitarian aid worker but my sources say is the front man for an arms dealer. And you, of course." He slanted a look at the not-a-spy. "Does a simple science conference always attract such a _cosmopolitan_ crowd?"

"You don't know the half of it," Ryan laughed, "I only sent you the ones that were concernin' to me. That place is crawlin' with so many spies - government and business - it's like being in 1960's Berlin."

"You've already suggested Risa might be a target. What makes this conversation any different from our last?"

"Because after that li'l mishap y'all had they got a taste of what she's capable of and it left 'em hankerin' for more. The stuff she's done? It's light years ahead of what anyone else got. Now their all startin' to look at her like a buncha Baptists look at a buffet table."

"Thank you for the warning. I've already increased her security." Kyoya pinned the American with a sharp gaze. "What, exactly, is your concern in all this Mr. Wagner. It's more than just trying to look after the girl you're in love with."

"That girl is precious to me and I ain't denyin' it." Ryan turned and leaned his back up against the railing, staring up at the hotel before him. "As for the rest - well, now, I thought my goals would be perfectly clear to you from my email alias."

Running over the email handle, Kyoya instantly picked out the part being alluded to. "1945. The year your country dropped two atomic bombs on mine."

The blonde tapped his nose in response. "The nuclear age is over, only idiots and fanatics think it ain't. The next war will be fought precisely and on a much smaller scale. Microscopically, even. Nanobots, personally targeted viruses, geographically confined plagues, technology eatin' bacteria, genetically modified soldiers – some of the things people think up give me nightmares. I can't stop what's comin', the barn doors are already wide open, but I can do whatever's necessary to make sure the worst of it stays out of the hands of my country's enemies for as long as possible."

Ryan ran a hair through his shaggy hair and heaved a weary sigh. "That little girl is part of all this, no matter how much I wish she weren't. There's lots of smart folk about, but Risa… she's got the kinda brain that can turn all those scary theories into fact. And _that_ makes her one of the most valuable pieces on the board – either to capture or remove."

Kyoya felt his blood run cold. "I'm just a businessman, Mr. Wagner, with no desire to dabble in global politics." He turned to face the American head on. "But I will protect what is mine from _anyone_ that would try to take or harm it. Be sure to relay that back to your masters back in Washington."

Ice blue eyes returned his gaze without wavering. "Bullshit. You got pulled into this the minute you married her and if you don't know it then you ain't the man I think you are. It just took time for folks to decide if you were a player or a pawn."

Kyoya arched one eyebrow. "And what is the consensus now?"

Ryan chuckled lowly. "Coy only looks cute on the girl you're courtin'. After what you did to Mitzusaka, only the bigger dogs will take you on now." The American flicked his cigarette so it flew, rotating through the air, and landed perfectly in the middle of the standing ash tray. "I should head back inside and greet my host. Maybe I'll even ask the prettiest gal in the room to dance."

Kyoya masked his surprise that Ryan man was not an uninvited guest. "Isn't this event a little out of your milieu, Mr. Wagner."

"I'm here representin' my pa. He and Mr. Shoji are in the same line a work." Dropping his casual friendliness, Ryan's face hardened. "She's made her choice, there ain't nothin' I can do about it. I gotta trust you to protect her for the both of us. Don't fuck it up, ya' hear?"

Soberness vanishing as quickly as it came, Ryan gave an amiable nod, shoved his hands in his pockets and strolled towards the doors back into the hotel. "Welcome to the game, Mr. Atari." Opening the door, he turned to call out over his shoulder, "And _Ganbatte!_ "


	24. The Present

"Complacent!" The pink-haired girl on Risa's computer screen declared her judgement with a decisive nod. "That's your problem, Ris – the both of you have become too damn complacent."

"I'm not complacent!" Risa lied. She was totally complacent. And what was wrong with that? For the last month-and-change, ever since her and Kyoya's relationship had entered the period she mentally referred to as _détente,_ things between them had been… good.

Oh, he was probably still hiding a bunch of stuff from her and she was carefully avoiding confronting him on any of it. But other than that everything was just fine.

Of course, he didn't love her while she loved him so much it could hurt. Sometimes, when he fell asleep before her, she'd just sit there and watch him and feel her heart whirl around in her chest like a centrifuge. But she was getting better; she hadn't done that in at least two or three days.

She was perfectly okay with things as they are. Over the last month, they'd settled into a kind of comfortable, less-than-lovers-but-more-than-friends status quo. With benefits.

Really, really, really _amazing_ benefits.

If she didn't feel the need to go rocking the boat, then so what?

"Do you mind, Amy?" growled the raven-haired man in the center of the trio spending their Sunday night Skyping in from Boston, "We are supposed to be talking about the project."

"Lighten up, Viktor. We've already said everything we need to – we're on track, she's on track, nobody needs anything, her demon husband is bitching about the budget, yada, yada, yada…"

"Then we should let her get back to work. I fail to see why every one of these meetings needs to devolve into a discussion of Risa's love life."

The man and woman to either side of him turned as one to face him and chorused, "Because it's fun!"

Viktor crossed an impressively muscled pair of arms across his barrel-like chest and glowered at the other two. "It is also inappropriate in a business setting."

"Ignore Viktor, Risulka." The whip-thin blonde man on the right gave an eye-roll as dramatic and over-the-top as his accent. "He's so stuffy since we made him President." Leaning forward, he propped his elbows on the conference table and rested his chin on top of his folded hands. "Now, tell Uncle Jacob all about how good that gorgeous man you're married to is in bed." He winced when Viktor whacked him on the back of the head.

"Okay, meeting over!" Risa's hand darted out to hit the 'close window' button. "I'm signing off now."

"Wait, wait!" Amy cried out in protest. Jacob launched himself at Viktor, igniting a wrestling match which she ignored with the air of long practice."Before you go, we need to talk about your bachelorette party."

"The wedding's not until April!" Risa objected, "Besides, we're already married. I don't need all the formalities."

"Silly girl," said Amy with a scary cat-like grin. "The bachelorette party isn't for _you_. You're just the excuse."

Risa gave a long sigh of resignation. "Fine, what did you need?"

Jacob, suprisingly strong for his build, deployed the ancient 'why are you hitting yourself' tactic against his opponent. Amy picked up her water glass and moved over one seat. "Well, as your Maid of Honor I need to plan it properly. I don't know Tokyo all that well so I need suggestions of where to go. _Good_ places. The kind that will cause your straight-laced groom to birth kittens when he finds out where we're going."

"Seriously, Amy? You're asking _me_ for ideas on where to party?"

"No, idiot," scoffed Amy, "If I let you pick we'd end up spending the night at the library. Or the lab. I'm asking you for the name of someone who would know where all the hottest nightclubs are. Preferably one who could get us on the guest list too."

"Actually, I do know someone." Risa took out her cellphone and pulling up the contact info. "Here, I'll email you his contact information."

Viktor gained the upper hand, putting Jacob in a headlock and giving the smaller man a noogie. Amy ignored them, keeping her eyes fixed on her phone until it gave the soft 'ding' indicating she'd received mail. She opened the message and her eyes widened in shock. "Hikaru Hitachiin?" she shouted, "You know Hikaru Hitachiin?"

The two men immediately stopped their scuffle and all three of her friends perked up, sitting so straight in their chairs they looked like a trio of meerkats. "The creator of the Alice vs. the Zombie games?" asked Viktor in a voice that quivered like an excited ten-year-old.

"What about his brother?" Jacob asked breathlessly, "Do you know him too? I love his clothes!"

"Um… yes, yes, and yes." The minute she sent the mail she'd regretted it. This was a very, very bad idea. "And no!" she proclaimed, anticipating the next question when both Amy and Jacob opened their mouths simultaneously, "You are not allowed to hook up with either of them at my wedding. Promise me!"

Viktor gave a grumbly bear laugh of derision while the other two bore matching expressions of the disdain Risa's declaration deserved.

"Oh, honey," replied Amy, "You know Jake and I don't make promises we don't intend to keep."

"Especially not if it involves delicious looking twins," agreed Jacob.

Yep – definitely a very, very bad idea.

* * *

After the meeting, Risa was only able to get about an hour of work in before the email that shattered the rest of her day arrived.

At first, she didn't pay much attention to the latest calendar invite Kimoe had sent. About a month into their marriage, Kyoya had hit upon the solution to her perpetual absent-mindedness about unimportant things like 'dates' and 'fundraisers' and 'family dinners'. He'd assigned his secretary the task of making sure Risa didn't neglect any important social engagement. Mostly, this involved calendar invites that showed up with just enough warning that she wouldn't lose her awareness of them by the day they arrived. Anything scheduled out for more than 48-hours away tended to fall down the memory hole. Unusually, this one was for something not taking place until Friday.

Five days away? She was sure to forget all about it by Wednesday.

Something niggled at the back of her mind, telling her she really should read it. That there was something important about this week that she had overlooked. When the self-nagging got to the point where she couldn't concentrate, she reluctantly opened the email and quickly read the details of who, what, when, where, and why.

Then read it again.

_Merde!_

She read it a third time, hoping against all laws of time and space that the words would have changed.

_Sheiss! Mierda! La shi! Shit_!

How the hell had she forgotten? No, not forgotten, she'd been vaguely aware for several weeks now that it was coming but had kept procrastinating because she didn't know what to do about it. Just what did you buy someone who didn't have any hobbies besides destroying his enemies and could afford to buy his own country if he wanted? Or at least purchase a nice little volcanic island complete with a fully kitted out supervillain base.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. No need to panic, Friday wasn't Kyoya's _actual_ birthday. It was just a weekend evening that happened to be lucky according to the six-day-lunar week and so made a good choice for a party with four hundred of one's closest friends and acquaintances. His actual birthday wasn't until… her eyes darted to the date on her computer screen and she cursed again. This time more inventively.

She was the worst wife ever.

Tomorrow. His birthday was tomorrow and she had nothing planned and no gift. Worst of all, the entire day tomorrow was blocked for a strategic planning meeting which meant she only had today to figure something out.

Okay, this wasn't ground for freaking out. She could do this. There were certain conventions in these situations which made planning easier.

First there was dinner. That shouldn't be a problem - the Ootori name opened doors anywhere Tokyo. Possibly in Japan. Placing a quick call, she asked Kimoe to find them a reservation at the best Thai or Vietnamese restaurant in the city, whichever had the spiciest food.

Then there was the... afterwards. A hotel would be as easy to arrange as dinner but Risa decided against it, they spent enough time in them at parties. Especially on those nights when the party ran late or Kyoya decided he didn't want to wait for the thirty minute drive home before destroying something absurdly expensive.

She'd really liked that backless, red dress the twins had sent her too…

Besides, Kyoya was always happiest and most relaxed in an environment that was completely under his control. Dinner and a night at home would be fine. And that just left the present. All she needed to do was find something suitable enough that she could pretend the whole evening was supposed to be a surprise and not a result of poor planning.

Entering the breakroom, she removed her lab coat and gathered her things. She stopped to inform Nakamura that she had some errands to run and would be out the rest of the day, texted Hotta to bring the car around, and headed out of the building. Surely somewhere in this city there was a present that screamed 'thoughtful,' and 'personal' and 'meaningful.' Or, at the very least, one that proclaimed 'not-bought-last-minute.'

* * *

By early afternoon, Risa's initial optimism had been dashed against the rocks of reality. Ginza should have been the perfect place to find something. High end, brand name, upscale – all attributes that came to mind when picturing both her husband and the items purveyed in this section of the city. It wasn't like there weren't some lovely things here, but nothing felt… special.

Clothes were too impersonal, wallets and watches too stereotypical, jewelry too incompatible – and so on. She'd found some pieces in a couple of the art galleries that might work; sculptures and paintings with clean lines and muted colors that were quite nice.

But she didn't want nice.

What she wanted was something that said 'I'm glad I married you,' and 'thanks for everything you've done for me,' yet stayed just shy of proclaiming 'I'm completely, madly, head-over-heels in love with you.' Tired and discouraged, she stared at the pictures in the window of a real estate office and idly wondered just how much time it would take to purchase an island.

Dismissing the notion with a shake of her head, she turned away from the realtor and moved on. The next display window featured bits of lace and satin draped decadently over birch tree branches springing out of a landscape of fake snow. Tilting her head, she gave them her full consideration. Well, if all else failed, she could always go the predictable route and settle for something that said 'take me to bed.'

Along with the lingerie, glittering stones of an improbably blue color and silver flecks nestled in the snow and hung in shiny chains from the ceiling. Silver and blue. The colors, at least, suited him – cool, reserved, yet oddly calming. They were colors you could depend on.

Something about the sparkly display triggered memories from childhood. The feel of a large hand enveloping her smaller one. Light glinting off an object as a deep voice rumbled against her ear, telling her a story of the past and painting a picture of her future.

What about _that?_ Frowning at her reflection in the glass, she wrestled with doubt. He might not like it. Or it might not be his style. And he wasn't the type to be affected by sentimentality. But... It was meaningful. And personal. And it said all the things she wanted to say.

Shoving down her reservations, she checked her watch. If she was going to do this, than she needed to hurry. It was almost one and that didn't give her much time before the banks closed. Fortunately, the one she needed wasn't that far away. Giddy excitement raced through her and she practically skipped towards where she'd left Hotta and the car.

Leaving the busier streets filled with shoppers, she headed out towards the edges of the shopping district down a street lined with businesses that were more office than retail. At this hour, most employees had already returned to their desks after lunch, leaving the sidewalks practically empty. The light at the last crosswalk between her and the car took forever. Wrapping her coat tight against her body to defend against the sharp wind tunneling between the tall buildings, she lowered her head to protect her eyes from tearing up. Risa tapped her foot impatiently while she waited and then bolted into the street as soon as the pedestrian light came on.

A second later she was flying.

The screech of tires filled her ears and something slammed into her back. The world whipped around her like the scenery from a merry-go-round and when it came back to right-way-up she was lying face down on the ground with a weight pressing her down into the concrete. The asphalt felt cold against her cheek and she could feel a vague ache in her palms and around her knees.

Another squeal of tires and Risa felt more than saw a car whip by right by her head. Her gloveless hands protested in pain when she pushed herself up while turning over. The disorientation she felt wasn't lessened by the sight before her. The weight on her back turned out to be a woman in a black coat and leggings. Risa sat up fully and the woman slipped off. Laying on her back, Risa's savior clenched her leg with both hands and and rocked back-and-forth while muttering obscenities under her breath.

Something about her seemed familiar.

When the woman unscrewed her face long enough to meet Risa's gaze, it all clicked into place. The woman who had pushed her out of the way of the car had been one of the team who had 'rescued' her and Kyoya the night of the break in. What was she doing here?

Shaking off her lingering shock, Risa pulled out her cellphone to call for an ambulance. Before she could dial, a pair of strong hands grabbed her under the arms, lifted her up, and dragged her back onto the sidewalk. "Let go!" she cried, turning around to push against the suspicious Good Samaritan.

"Ootori-sama, please!" The man gripped her forearms as she struggled, anchoring her in place. "Please stay here. We have this under control."

Calming down slightly at the use of her name, Risa looked at his face carefully. It was incredibly average. Almost perfectly non-descript. Dressed as he was in the universal black business suit and black wool coat worn by 90% of Japanese salarymen she'd have a hard time picking him out of a crowd. Even so, she thought she recognized him. "You're one of Tachibana-san's men, aren't you? I've seen you walking around the labs with him before."

He nodded curtly. "Yes, but you should call him and verify that for yourself. Its good security procedure," he added when she opened her mouth to ask why.

"I need to call for an ambulance first." Risa gestured towards the injured woman and began to head towards her, only to find herself pulled back by the man's grip on her bicep.

"We have it covered, Ootori-sama." He lifted the cellphone in his own hand as illustration. "Please stay here where it is safe."

A second black-suited-but-probably-not-a-salaryman jogged up from the cross-street where the car that caused the accident had peeled off to. Dropping down on one knee next to the woman still in the street, he lifted his face to look at Risa's companion and gave a quick shake of his head before turning to examine his colleague's leg. At that silent communication, the man next to Risa took a couple steps away until he was close enough so Risa was still in reach but far enough away that she couldn't hear the hushed conversation he was having on his phone.

A crowd was beginning to form, curious onlookers drawn to the excitement. Risa's head was no less crowded with thoughts and suspicions. Reflexively, she began to put them in order and form a hypothesis.

One that left her very, very ticked off.

Down the street, Risa spotted an ambulance and she lifted up on the balls of her feet in anticipation. It trundled by without slowing down and she settled back on her heels. It wasn't theirs. Funny it hadn't stopped, but maybe it already had an occupant.

Risa returned to her musings. She was still hazy on the sequence of events, but she thought she had the gist of it:

When she'd entered the crosswalk, she had taken the light for granted and hadn't looked both ways. A car trying to beat the light had nearly hit her, but the woman now lying in the crosswalk had knocked her out of the way.

The woman who worked for Kyoya.

The woman who, along with her two companions, had been _following_ her.

Risa's irritation was growing exponentially.

Still, she couldn't be anything other than grateful that the – what? Stalker? Guard? – hadn't been killed or seriously injured in her place. At least, from the way she was muttering under her breath, Risa assumed the injury was minor. The driver, obviously fearing the police, had then driven off in haste, turning a simple accident into a hit-and-run.

A second ambulance pulled up and disgorged a pair of EMTs with a stretcher. Risa tried to go up to them, but the guard by her side kept her in place on the sidewalk with an iron grip. The second male guard engaged in a brief argument with the new arrivals. From what Risa could hear it sounded like the EMTs wanted to take her savior to the nearest ER but Tachibana's man was insisting they go to the nearest Ootori hospital instead.

Predictably, the Ootori name worked its magic once again and the security guard won.

"Ootori-sama," said the man with Risa, cellphone still plastered to his ear, "The EMT's have everything in hand. I'll accompany you back to the car and Hotta-san will drive you to the hospital."

Seeing there was nothing more she could do here, Risa acquiesced. She wanted to go to the hospital anyway. It was the least she could do for the woman being strapped into a stretcher in her place.

* * *

"This is ridiculous, I'm barely scratched. I don't need to see a doctor!" Risa paced the width of the small examination room she'd been brought to immediately on entering the hospital. The guard who'd accompanied her on the drive stood outside the doorway and prevented her every attempt at leaving to go find the person who'd _actually_ been injured.

From his corner near the door, a white-coated man looked up from the top-of-the-line laptop he was entering something on and gave a strained smile. "Nevertheless, Ootori-sama, I would still like to examine your injuries." He gestured towards the bed dominating the room for perhaps the tenth time.

Risa ignored it. "Look, I'm sure there are other more important things you should be doing. How about you give me a Band-Aid or two and I promise to tell anyone who asks you did a great job." Every turn of her foot and twinge of her knee reminded her that the time left until the bank closed was slipping away.

Not that she was in a particularly present-giving mood anymore.

The door to the examination room opened and the current source of her annoyance walked in. "Doctor," Kyoya asked with that oh-so-genial expression he wore in public, "How is your patient doing?"

"I haven't yet had the opportunity to examine her," replied the doctor. His tone managed to convey that this situation was entirely her fault.

Risa stopped in her tracks and glowered at him. The bastard had just thrown her under the bus! Not that she blamed him. From his age, somewhere in his mid-50's, it was clear he was one of the more senior members of staff. Nobody made it that far up in the hierarchy of an Ootori hospital without knowing exactly which side of the bread the butter was on.

"Kyoya, this isn't necessary. I'm fine," she protested feebly.

"Glad to hear it." His tone was mild and his eyes hadn't left the cell phone in his right hand but she could feel the temperature of the room dropping precipitously. "Let's just have the doctor verify that."

Risa crossed her arms across her chest, wincing slightly as her abraded palms brushed against the fabric of her shirt. "I'm sure the good doctor has better things to do. Maybe he could attend to the employee of yours who was _actually_ injured. You know, the one you had following me?"

"Aside from a few bruises and a broken leg, Ariwa-san is perfectly fine. She's sleeping now, I will make sure to arrange time for you to visit her tomorrow." He slipped his phone into his jacket pocket. His right hand covered most of his face as he pushed up his glasses with one finger. "And she was protecting you, Risa, not following you."

"Protecting me? From what?"

"In this case, from your own foolishness." He clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "Really, Risa, even children know not to run into the street without checking for traffic."

She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks and forced herself not to fall for his attempt to sidetrack the conversation. "And exactly how long have you been having me 'protected?"

"Since we married." His expression softened marginally. "I know it isn't something you are used to, but being part of the Ootori family carries certain risks."

"And they've been following me everywhere all this time?"

"Not everywhere. Only when you are outside home, office or other secure location. It's a routine precaution everyone in the family takes, including me," he said smoothly.

He was lying to her. Or about to lie to her. Or omitting something. He was still very, very good at it, but she was beginning to spot his tells. Whenever he plastered that suave, charming face on she couldn't believe anything he said.

"I see." She rubbed her fingers with her temples. "And you never once thought to mention this to me?"

Something almost akin to guilt appeared in his eyes. "You aren't used to such restrictions on your freedom. I didn't wish to worry you or cause unnecessary distress."

She snorted. That had to be the lie. "More likely you just didn't want to deal with my objections." He lowered his eyes, acknowledging the truth of her accusation, and Risa felt her ire drain away. "Alright, I suppose I can understand the need for bodyguards, if not your reasons for keeping it from me. You were just trying to protect me. It's kind of sweet. High-handed and slightly creepy, but sweet."

The guilt vanished, replaced by self-satisfaction in getting his way. "Good. Now, perhaps the good doctor can proceed with his examination."

Risa rolled her eyes. "Really, there's no need to waste hospital resources on something this trivial." She couldn't help taking another glance at her watch. "And I have an errand I'd like to run…"

"It can wait."

"Actually, it can't," she muttered under her breath. Holding up her hands beseechingly, she pleaded with him to see reason, "I promise to properly disinfect when I get home."

Kyoya smiled tightly and locked gazes with her. His eyes burned so cold they could freeze oxygen. "Risa, _Liebchen_ , if you don't sit down and allow the nice doctor to take a look at you I will have an orderly come in and tie you to the bed."

She sat.

"Good girl." He gave a small bow to the man in the corner, "Sensei, if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to." Kyoya turned on his heel and walked out the door. "Please let me know if my troublesome wife gives you any further difficulties."

* * *

Kyoya waited until the door slid closed behind him before leaning against the opposite wall and taking his left hand out of his pocket. Ever since he'd gotten the call from Tachibana it had been curled tightly into a fist and, now that he'd seen her for himself, he was finally able to will it to relax. Half-moon indentations from his fingernails blazed a dark red against the pale skin of his palm.

Too. Damn. Close.

Despite all his precautions, the fact that Risa was uninjured came down to luck and timing. And _that_ was unacceptable.

Checking first to be sure the area was free of hospital staff, he removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose to alleviate the headache forming behind his eyes.

He might be leaping to conclusions - there was still the possibility that this had been an accident. Tachibana had tracked the plate numbers to a car reported stolen this morning and a desire to avoid the police easily explained the driver's panicked flight. But he hadn't gotten to where he was by trusting in convenient explanations and coincidences.

Ryan's oblique warning less than six weeks ago, a hit-and-run with Risa as the intended target, an ambulance in the immediate vicinity that the fire department had no record of dispatching – coincidence piled upon coincidence until the idea of this being a simple accident became improbable.

The squeak of rubber-soled shoes headed his way sounded from around the corner. Before any of the Ootori staff could catch him in a moment of weakness, he straightened his posture, donned his spectacles, and pretended to be immersed in his cell phone. He looked up briefly to nod cordially to the woman who rounded the corner on her way to the nurse's station, then dropped his gaze back to the screen to discourage conversation.

Fifteen minutes later he was still standing in that position when the examining room door slid open and Risa emerged. A tightness around his chest that he hadn't been aware of released on seeing the doctor had confirmed her lack of wounds.

"See," she said with a teasing air, holding up palms lightly wrapped in gauze for his perusal, "Barely scratched."

"Minor abrasions on her palms and right knee," explained the doctor who followed her out of the room, "I've cleaned the wounds and applied antibiotic ointment. Change the dressings once a day until healed over and make sure to monitor for swelling around the knee."

"Thank you, Sensei." Risa slanted her eyes towards Kyoya mutinously. "I apologize for taking your time and skills away from more deserving patients."

Kyoya stepped in quickly to smooth over any ruffled feathers. "Nevertheless, my family and I appreciate your diligence. You can be sure I will mention your good care of my wife to my father."

The doctor preened under the praise and implied promise of reward. Kyoya politely dismissed him before the man offered to see them out. Grasping Risa's elbow with his hand, he escorted her towards the front entrance where Hotta had the car waiting.

"This really wasn't necessary, you know. I've had worse injuries from chem lab experiments."

"Then thank you for indulging me." He could be magnanimous in victory when he chose. Especially when it derailed her complaints so handily.

It was possible that he had been a tad unreasonable in insisting the senior ER doctor treat his wife's superficial wounds, but that was one of his rights as part of the family which paid the bills. He didn't question why he'd been irrational about making sure she was okay. He would no doubt have acted the same if it had been Tamaki, or Haruhi, or even one of the twins in that situation. Risa was one of the people he considered important. Nothing more and nothing less.

Hotta was standing by the car parked right in front of the main exist to the hospital. He opened the rear passenger side seat and Kyoya settle Risa into the backseat. "I have a few more things to wrap up here. The errand you needed to run, where had you been planning to go?"

"Oh." She shrugged. "It's alright. It can wait."

He rested his left hand on the top of the door, preventing it from closing, and lifted an eyebrow.

"Fine," Risa huffed, unable not to break the silence, "If you must know, I wanted to go by my bank. But it's too late now, they close in five minutes."

"Did you need cash? There should be enough for most things in the wall safe in my office at home."

"No, I wanted to get something from my safe deposit box before the bank holiday on Wednesday and I'm busy all day tomorrow."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Kyoya felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. When was she going to learn? Married to him for four months and she still thought like a commoner. With his right hand, he thumbed through the contacts on his cell phone until he found the one he wanted. In less than a minute, everything was arranged. "The bank manager will meet you in the lobby." He wasn't quite able to keep the smugness out of his tone. Perhaps because he didn't want to.

His smile broadened at her expression. Supporting his weight on the hand holding the door, he leaned in close to her and chucked her under the chin. "Being an Ootori may carry risks, but it also has its benefits."

Her parted lips were almost too tempting to resist, but he let go of the door and stepped back. Ootori's did not engage in public displays of affection. Especially not in the family place of business. He shut the door and nodded a silent dismissal to Hotta. Although she was safe in the driver's care, he lingered at the front of the hospital until the car had driven off before he headed back inside.

It would be awhile before he could head home. There were debriefings to be done, an employee to commend, and arrangements to be made with Tachibana. Today could have been an accident, or assault, or attempted abduction. But whatever it was, one thing was certain - the people behind it were going to pay.

* * *

"I'm home," Kyoya called out, slipping off his shoes and aligning the heels neatly against the entry step so the toes faced the door. From the entryway he could see into the kitchen where Risa stood at the far counter with her back to him. Something rich, earthy, and pungent wafted down the hallway and reached his nostrils.

"Welcome back," she replied without turning around, "I'm heating up one of the meals the housekeeper left. I think it's some kind of stroganoff if you want to pick out a wine."

Before he realized what he was doing, he crossed the room in a few long steps, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her back up against his chest. "Don't do something so reckless again," he ordered gruffly in her ear.

She turned around in his arms and slid her hands around his waist until she held him tightly, nuzzling her cheek against his chest. "I won't. I'm sorry."

"I was worried." He stroked his palm down her back and finally felt the tension that had gripped him all afternoon begin to ease. "It would be troublesome for the company if you were to become injured. Your position can't be easily replaced."

Risa chuckled and her cheek rubbed against his shirt in a nod. "I understand. I'll be more careful," she said in tones one would use to soothe a child, "For the sake of the company."

The microwave dinged that their dinner had finished reheating, but he didn't let her go and she didn't move away. Long minutes passed where he simply held her, reassuring himself that once again everything was back within his control.

"What was so important for you to retrieve from the bank anyway?" he muttered, slightly peevishly.

"I'll show you." Risa pushed back against his arms and he dropped them to his side. Walking over to the coat closet, she opened it and pulled out something from her purse small enough to conceal in her hand. "I was going to give this to you tomorrow, but I guess the surprise is mostly gone."

Returning to the kitchen, she used both hands to hold out a small, black velvet box towards him. "Happy early birthday."

Raising his eyebrows curiously he took the jewelry box from her hands and opened it. Nestled in the satin-lining inside was a ring. A man's ring with a rectangular-cut sapphire of the most brilliant blue he'd ever seen inset into a thick, platinum band. It was elegant, clean, and simple. The type of art he'd always been most drawn to.

"Um… I know you don't normally wear jewelry," she stammered. Her cheeks turned the delightful pink hue they became whenever she got flustered and she refused to meet his gaze. "But I realized that I hadn't gotten you a wedding ring and…" She took a deep breath as if steeling herself. "My grandmother bought that for Grandfather the first year the company turned a profit. And Grandfather passed it on to my Father on the day he took over as company president. It just seems right that it belong to you now."

Kyoya lightly traced his finger over the surface of the ring that symbolized the Tsuchiba family's legacy. Her legacy. A legacy that he was now a part of just as she had become part of the Ootori's. It never failed to affect him, to bewilder him - this way she had of trusting him unreservedly with the things most precious to her. He turned his face away slightly, to make sure the mask hiding his emotions was back in place before he faced her again.

Risa awkwardly fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt and bit her lower lip, taking his silence the wrong way. "It's a little overly sentimental, isn't it?" She muttered something under her breath about 'should have gone for the island' and reached for the box. "Look, just forget about it. I'll get you something more suitable."

"No." He jerked the box away from her and slipped the ring on his left finger. It fit as if it were made for him. "It's perfect." Cupping her chin with his newly bejeweled hand, he wrapped the other around her hip and pulled her in tight. "I like my present very much."

The light in her eyes matched the brilliance of her smile when she gazed up at him. "Really?"

"Mmmm," he murmured in assent, dipping his head to capture her lips and demonstrate his appreciation in a more tangible way.

By the time they got around to dinner, the stroganoff was ice cold.


	25. The Lab Rats

"Kajahara-sensei from Tokyo General? Really?" Risa's voice drifted into the bedroom through the open bathroom door. "But he's a complete skeptic!"

Kyoya's hands slowed and stilled in the act of buttoning his shirt. The view he had from his vantage point in front of the bedroom mirror was just too distracting. If he angled his head just-so, he could see his wife's black-satin-and-lace-clad bottom wriggling and shimmying as she tried to lean as far over the sink as she could to apply her eyeliner. Was she at all aware of the invitation she was offering? Two months ago, he would have said no, but that was before he'd realized her mischievous streak extended into the bedroom.

Intentional offer or not, the _real_ question was - was there enough time before they had to leave to take her up on it? With a resigned frown, he shook his head and reluctantly looked away. The guest of honor couldn't be late to his own birthday party.

"His skepticism is why he's the perfect choice to conduct the clinical trials." Kyoya replied, forcing himself back to the topic at hand. "If he reports the treatment as successful then it'll be a useful foil to the anti-GMO contingent. The political battle to prevent having your research regulated into oblivion needs to begin now."

"It's not that I don't understand your reasoning-" Risa continued to voice her objections as she padded on stocking-covered feet into the bedroom and headed towards him. Regrettably, she'd managed to wriggle into her dress while his head was turned. Tonight, she was channeling her inner Audrey Hepburn with a red, above-the-knee length version of the off-the-shoulder wedding dress from Roman Holiday.

Every part of him simultaneously agreed that she looked phenomenal in red.

"-It's just that the man's an overbearing ass," Risa concluded, turning around to present her back to him in an unspoken command to zip her up.

He deliberately took his time pulling up the zipper, letting his knuckles brush against her spine and watching shivers race across her skin at his touch. When done, he rested his hands on her bare shoulders and leaned forward to murmur against her ear, "Please tell me you haven't already alienated him with some petty academic squabble."

"Of course not. I said he was an ass, not an idiot." Her chuckle rocked the shoulder muscles underneath his hands. "I'm perfectly capable of maintaining amiable relations with my colleagues. And, for the record, if I _did_ squabble with him it wouldn't have been over something petty."

"Glad to hear." He placed a kiss on the side of her neck and felt the shudder pass through her body. She was so damn responsive; it was still hard to believe she'd managed to make it twenty-two years without taking a lover. And he was clearly a Neanderthal for being happy about it.

Risa turned in his arms and, grasping the edges of his dress shirt, began buttoning it the rest of the way up. "So, tonight you want me to convince Kajahara-sensei to oversee the clinical trials and charm the 'incompetent son-in-law' Watari Pharmaceuticals has put in charge of R&D to see if I can find out what's in their pipeline." She finished fastening the top button and smiled up at him playfully. "Just how much leg did you want me to show him to get the information?"

"I leave that entirely up to your discretion." Kyoya lifted his left hand, tracing his fingertips along her jawline. "But be advised that if you make the wrong choice I may have to punish you for it later."

Her eyes sparkled with laughter, as if she didn't believe his threat. Or, more likely, because she was thinking of taking him up on it. "You're acting very possessive, you know."

His fingertips reached her chin and he tilted her face up, leaning his own in close. Risa's eyes fluttered shut and her whole body swayed towards him. "You say that like it's a bad thing," he whispered against her lips and felt her tremble under his touch.

With a smirk, he dropped his hand and walked away.

Crossing towards the walk-in closet next to the bathroom, Kyoya didn't have to look behind him to know that she would still be standing there with desire staining her skin pink from the swell of her breasts all the way up her neck to her cheeks and her eyes rapidly blinking to try and dispel the fog he'd thrown her senses into. If he'd realized how much fun marital foreplay could be he might have given in to his father's demands sooner.

Or perhaps not – none of the vapid potential spouses his father had put forth would have entertained him half so much.

The closet, larger than the bedrooms of some commoner apartments, was lined on three sides with racks, shelves, and built in drawers. In the center of the room were two long back-to-back dressers for accessories. Opening the top drawer of the 'his' dresser, Kyoya surveyed the array of cufflinks nestled in the silk-lined boxes. Out of habit, his hands reached for the gold, circular links bearing the Ootori family crest, but at the last minute switched direction and plucked out a pair in silver inset with a single small, blue stone. They better matched the ring glittering on his finger.

"I hate to admit it, but you were right," Risa called out. "These things are easier to put up with when you have a goal or two."

"I'm usually right," he replied. Closing the drawer, he opened another to select a bow-tie in the exact shade of black to match his tuxedo and then crossed over to the rack holding his jacket. Through the open doorway, he could see that Risa standing in front of the floor mirror, giving her appearance an unnecessary once-over. He just managed to catch her exaggerated eye-roll over his boast and couldn't resist tweaking her more. "Besides, I consider it a service to keep you distracted enough not to commit mass homicide at my birthday party.

She snorted. "Well, that might be one way to get your father to stop holding these things. Seriously, who celebrates a birthday past the age they can drink?"

Kyoya shrugged on his tuxedo jacket and looped the ends of his bow tie around his collar. "The Ootoris do. You know father's motto - Private events…"

"…Public celebrations." She completed. Leaning forward, she smoothed a small smudge away from underneath her right eyebrow. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped. Any other targets for me, General Kyoya?"

"If you have a chance, spend some time with Komatsuzawa Naoki. Her husband's family is in the newspaper business and it's never too early to start generating good press." After grabbing a thin, black box from where he'd hidden it, he emerged from the closet. Walking towards her, he made sure to angle his body so as to conceal from her what he held in his hand. "Her husband and I have a somewhat complicated history so the approach will work better if it's from you. I understand she has a cousin with cystic fibrosis so I suspect she'll be very interested in your work."

Their eyes met in the mirror and she gave him a jaunty salute and a wink. Her glow of delight at being able to help him made the extra effort required to come up with plausible objectives for her worth every minute. He liked the way she looked when she was happy – the pink hue of her skin, the glint of excitement in her eyes, the way her body almost quivered like an elated puppy. But even more, he liked being the one who put that look on her face. Knowing that he was the one responsible for her smile.

Coming up alongside her, he thrust the box in his hand in front of her. "Here. Your jewelry collection is appallingly deficient. I thought you could use something a little flashier to go with that dress. You can't wear the same necklace with everything – people will start thinking I'm stingy."

Risa tilted her chin to the side and peered up at him, hesitating slightly as she took the box from his hand. "But I like the DNA necklace you got me. And you _are_ a tight-fisted, skinflint – why do you think everyone calls you _Oni-kaicho?"_

She held the box in front of her like the contents might bite her. Mirth at her skepticism bubbled up in him and he fought the smile twitching his lips. Risa could proclaim a preference for shiny tech over shiny baubles all she wanted, he only took it as a challenge. "That's different, I'm supposed to be parsimonious with your lab budget. That's what you married me for."

Moving behind her, he covered her hands with his. "Now stop stalling and open your gift." He flipped the lid open with his thumbs. The gasp of surprise she made caused the smile playing on his lips to escape and turn into a self-satisfied beam.

Lifting the necklace from its satin-lined box, Risa held it up in the air before her and twisted it back and forth. Light gleamed off the pairs of diamond encrusted mice scampering around in a circle, each pair clutching ruby hearts as big as their heads between their conjoined paws. "Lab rats! They're adorable!" she laughed with delight, "But you do know that you're supposed to receive presents for your birthday, not give them," she teased, her smile brighter than the tiny rodents.

"Who says this isn't my present?" he answered, taking the necklace from her hands. "You." His fingertips brushed against her skin as he brought the ends of the necklace over her collar bone and around the back of her neck and she shivered. "The necklace." His breath stirred the hair at the nape of her neck and he heard hers hitch in response. "And nothing else." Fastening the chain, he placed a kiss on the back of her neck and chuckled softly when she released her breath with a shudder.

"I never knew you had a jewelry fetish," she replied shakily, lolling her head back against his chest and letting her eyes droop closed.

Kyoya barked out a surprised laugh. "You've been talking to Pooja again." Leaning down, he gently sucked her right ear lobe in between his teeth, running his tongue along the edge. "And you shouldn't throw around accusations you don't fully understand," he admonished with a flick of his tongue.

"If you keep doing that, we're going to be late." Her half-hearted protest came out on a sigh.

"An Ootori is never late." He nipped at her right shoulder. "You'll just have to wait until after the party." Smiling smugly at her flushed cheeks and eyelids heavy with desire, he deliberately took a full step back away from her.

If he kept that up, they wouldn't just be late, they'd never show up at all.

Resolutely turning away from temptation, Kyoya focused on knotting his bow-tie. "Speaking of presents, what would you like for Christmas?" Risa opened her mouth and his eyes narrowed sharply. "And don't say lab equipment," he ordered before she could get out a word.

Her face fell and she stuck out her bottom lip slightly. Stepping in front of him, she made a show of adjusting his already impeccably knotted tie. "But, what if that's what I really, _really_ want?"

"No." He clasped his hands lightly behind her back. "But, if you're good, I could be convinced to hire that intern you keep going on about."

Her face lit up more than it had when she'd seen the 2.5-million-yen necklace. "A minion? You'll get me my very own minion? Oh, you are the best _Oni-kaicho_ ever!" Her hands encircled the back of his neck and her eyes took on a mischievous twinkle. "Now, just _how_ good do I need to be? Because I? Can be very, _very_ good."

"Is that so?" he murmured, "Then after the party I'll give you a chance to prove your hypothesis." Unable to resist, he pulled her against him and captured her mouth in a kiss.

Punctuality was an overrated virtue.

* * *

"It was a pleasure talking to you, Kajahara-sensei." Risa bowed as deeply to her companion as the neckline of her dress allowed. It wasn't that far. "I look forward to our meeting on Tuesday." The middle-aged doctor replied with a cursory grunt and dove back towards the buffet.

Overbearing ass.

But, an overbearing ass who had agreed to head up the clinical trials thanks to her efforts. Smiling to herself, she gave a pleased little shimmy. One target down, two to go. Not bad for the first thirty minutes. The Komatsuzawas hadn't arrived yet, but she'd spotted her other target over by the open bar. That would make her task easier - nothing could get a man to spill his secrets faster than alcohol and the vain hope of impressing a woman into falling into his bed.

Just how much leg _would_ she have to show to ensure Kyoya lived up to his promise?

She could feel warmth stinging her cheeks and knew her smile had gone from 'polite' to 'giddy.' The last two months had turned her positively wanton. Not that she was complaining. And her groom certainly wasn't either.

Her eyes began scanning the room of their own volition, seeking out the man occupying her thoughts. Predictably, he was standing in a cluster of businessmen, all of whom were looking at him like he was made of money. To be fair, he might as well be. Lately, both the ballrooms and boardrooms of Tokyo were buzzing with rumors that Sakura Pharmaceuticals was on to something big. And everyone wanted a piece of it. Of them.

At a pause in his conversation, Kyoya lifted his head and looked straight at her - as if he knew she'd been staring. Lifting his eyebrow in inquiry she responded with a nod of affirmation. The look of pride on his face at her mission's success sent a thrill of happiness racing through her and she smiled. But, before their silent conversation could continue, the man on Kyoya's left said something and he broke contact, turning back to address his admirers.

Her disappointment stung more than it should. This was just what a society marriage was like, you arrived together and left together - the rest of the time was spent with everyone else. Taking a breath, she shrugged it off and squared her shoulders. Kyoya had his job and she had hers. It was time for some flirting with a hopefully-not-too-inebriated idiot.

A loud round of laughter from the men hanging around the bar had her looking in that direction and grimacing. The Watari son-in-law had the bright red face of someone well past the point of tipsy. And he looked the type to justify whatever he did tonight with the excuse of 'being drunk.' Risa sent up a silent plea that, whatever else he did, he wouldn't vomit down her cleavage.

Maybe she should take a break to check her make up first. Make sure it was flirt-worthy. That doing so would take her away from a room already growing stuffy with the weight of people and their egos was just a side benefit.

Her feet were already heading out of the room before she'd completed the thought.

Immediately outside the open doors to the ballroom was a large foyer almost as magnificent as the room behind her. People seeking a bit of air perched on the lushly upholstered furniture, bowing their heads together for quiet conversation. She nodded to a few of them, but didn't intrude, as she headed towards a hallway almost hidden behind one of the two smaller ballrooms on the floor.

If she were forced to find something positive about having to attend so many society functions it would be that she now knew the layout of every five star hotel in Tokyo by heart. Every hidden patio. Every overlooked alcove. Every single nook and cranny where she could stop being the socialite, or the dutiful daughter, or the chairman's wife for a minute. Or ten. Every place where she could find a little bit of peace and quiet.

This hotel, the flagship of Suoh Enterprises, was the one she knew the best. In warm weather, her favorite spot was the patio tucked behind the smaller west-side ballroom. In November, the options were more limited but she had managed to find a restroom that typically went unnoticed in favor of the more luxurious ones located outside the grand ballroom.

Yeah, she was planning on hiding in the bathroom. So what?

The hallway opened into an atrium next to a bank of elevators. This far from the party, the only occupants were a security guard posted to keep out the great unwashed and a young couple taking advantage of how the box sofa hid their activities from casual view. Risa gave a polite greeting to the guard which he returned with barest flicker of acknowledgement, his attention never wavering from his task.

Past the atrium, she turned left down a side hallway, which ended in an emergency exit, and pushed open the door to her destination. The first section of the ladies' lounge was a powder room with a chaise lounge, some chairs, and a counter-and-mirror combination that ran along the entire length of one wall. Risa had already taken a few steps into the area before realizing that she wasn't alone. An elderly lady, wearing one of those beaded, cap-sleeved, below-the-knee dresses favored by women of a certain age, was using the mirror to reapply her lipstick.

Risa hurried past the unwelcome intruder, giving only the minimum amount of greeting that would be polite considering she was technically this party's hostess. Thankfully, the woman wasn't the chatty type and didn't even try to engage her in conversation. Using the excuse of biology, she passed through the arch to the more utilitarian section and ducked into a stall. Taking longer than was strictly necessary, she waited until she thought she heard the outer door close before exiting.

Moving back into the now empty powder room, Risa sank down gratefully onto an overstuffed ottoman. Slipping off her shoes, she pressed her aching feet against the cool tile and moaned with relief. The person who invented high heels should be shot. But, on the other hand, Kyoya did seem to appreciate what they did to her calves.

With a sigh, Risa reached up to touch her fingertips to his gift. Lab rats. It was just so… sweet. And thoughtful. And a tiny bit ostentatious. And just so _him_ – right down to that mocking little smirk he'd given her that said he knew what she liked better than she did.

Arrogant, patronizing, utterly magnificent bastard!

Sweet lords of Kobol, she was in trouble. It was getting harder and harder not to blurt out the words that would destroy the delicate harmony of their relationship. The words that would force their feelings out into the open and ruin the companionable partnership they'd forged.

' _I love you._ '

She clamped down hard on the tiny voice that urged her to tell the truth. There was no need to drop that bomb; it wouldn't change anything. It was enough that she knew he cared for her in his own way. Maybe not quite to the level of the Suohs, but at least she ranked higher than the twins in his affections. Probably.

Her fingers trailed over the bejeweled rodents circling her neck. And this way, if she never forced him to reply, then sometimes she could pretend for just awhile that he loved her back.

Shaking her head to dispel her maudlin thoughts, Risa pushed her feet into her shoes, groaning when the backs brushed against already sore heels. Standing up, she checked her makeup in the mirror. It was fine, but she took the time to touch up her lipstick and pat down some of the shine on her cheeks anyway. After a final review, she pasted her socialite smile firmly in place, threw open the door and headed back to reality.

Half-way down the corridor, Risa stopped in her tracks as an eerie keen filled the hallway. It was a low rattling sound, a cross between a moan and a gasp, that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on edge. It was a sound that could have been ripped straight from a George Romero film.

And it came from behind her.

Turning around slowly, heart lurching in her chest, she almost heaved a sigh of relief when she saw it was just the old lady from the restroom. Then she noticed how the woman was hunched against the wall next to the emergency exit, her hand clutching at her left chest.

"Obaa-chan!" Risa cried, scurrying up to the woman's side to help, "Are you all right, should I call for help." Her hands were already digging in her purse to find her cell phone before she remembered that she had left it at home.

"Need… medicine…" The woman panted, her hand clawing uselessly at her heart, "In… purse…"

Risa scooped up the bag which had fallen at the woman's feet and rooted around in it frantically. Tissues. Wallet. Keys. There! Snatching the pill bottle, she held it up triumphantly. "Is this it, Oba... Owww!"

The sharp pain in her right bicep wrenched the yelp from her lips. Turning her head, Risa could only watch as the contents of a syringe were plunged into her arm by a smooth and unwrinkled hand. Following the hand back up along the arm it was attached to, she ended up staring straight into the old woman's face.

Risa had just enough time to note that the eyes looking back at her were much younger and harder than she would have expected before the darkness spiraled up to claim her.

* * *

Kyoya bowed to the departing middle aged gentleman and hid his smile at another negotiation satisfactorily concluded. It wasn't polite, or politic, to reveal openly that he'd just bested his opponent. Especially when the person in question didn't realize it yet.

Summoning a waiter, he exchanged his empty wine glass for a full one and sipped it idly while scanning the room for his next victim. The night was going well. Every mission he'd assigned himself had been accomplished with ease. Risa, too, was meeting with success and had managed to land Kajahara faster than anticipated. Of course, she looked enchanting tonight. It was no surprise the old goat had folded so quickly.

Lifting his glass, Kyoya used it to obscure the smile of pride he felt on his lips and sought out the flash of red which marked his wife's progress around the room. The smile turned downward when he'd completed his circuit without success. It wasn't unusual for her to take a break, but he couldn't recall finding her the last time he'd sought her out either. Tracing back the evening in his mind, he counted to himself. The last time he'd had a glimpse of her was two, three, four? Four. It had to have been at least four conversations ago. Allowing for the time it took to conduct his business that would be…

Twenty minutes. It had been at least twenty minutes since that shade of red had crossed his vision.

His hand tightened around the stem of his glass and he forced himself to relax. The room was crowded; he had probably just missed her. Or she was hiding away in the bathroom again and had lost track of time.

But every instinct he had said otherwise.

"Is something wrong, Kyoya-sama?" Tachibana, ever alert to his employer's moods, materialized at his elbow before he could think to summon him.

"I'm… not sure." Logic kept trying to assert dominance but his unease only grew. "It's probably nothing, but please confirm that someone has eyes on my wife. No need for alarm, just yet. I'm sure she just went to get some air."

"Yes, Kyoya-sama. Right away." Tachibana faded back into the scenery, lifting his wrist to his mouth and giving a muted order to the security detail posted discretely all over the building.

Clamping down tightly on his disquiet, Kyoya forced himself to continue socializing. Ootoris didn't panic. It wasn't in their nature. Especially over something so trivial.

Fifteen minutes later, the ceaseless prattle of the society matron who'd cornered him was grating on every last one of his unsettled nerves. Where the hell was Tachibana? And why wouldn't the old bat shut up about her insipid grandchildren? Sternly, he reminded himself that her husband owned the second largest chain of pharmacies in the country. He had to at least pretend to find this drivel utterly fascinating and not a complete waste of his time. Time that should be spent making sure his wife…

He cut off the thought and smiled just a little too sharply at the oblivious grandmother.

Finally, Tachibana returned. Laying his hand on his employer's shoulder, the older man murmured quietly into his ear, "Kyoya-sama, please come with me. We have a situation."

The relief he'd felt at Tachibana's reappearance turned to icy tendrils of fear that wrapped around Kyoya's chest and squeezed. Only years of training prevented him from revealing anything on face. Excusing himself, he turned and strolled unhurriedly out of the ballroom. By tacit agreement, both men refrained from conversation. In this place, there were ears everywhere.

Every step without a word, without any clarification intensified the fear gnawing at his stomach like a swarm of Risa's beloved lab rats. When Tachibana ushered him down the hallway leading to the business conference rooms, the pounding in his ears grew so loud he could barely hear the strains of the string quartet wafting out from the grand ballroom.

The Security Chief stopped at a door and checked the hallway for observers before pushing it open and gesturing his employer to enter. Inside, the room bustled with frenzied activity. At least fifteen men and women, all part of Tachibana's staff, scuttled around setting up computers and phone lines while speaking in hushed, urgent tones. Immediately recognizing the setup, Kyoya's mouth filled with ash.

They were putting together a command center.

"Tachibana, report," he barked as the ice hardened, pushing the air from his lungs.

"Kyoya-sama, I…" The older man took a deep breath and snapped to rigid attention. "We've done a complete sweep of this floor and been unable to locate Risa-sama. The guard on the south elevators puts her last known location as heading towards the south-east corridor approximately forty-five minutes ago. Furthermore…" Tachibana's stoic expression turned grim. "Furthermore, the guard on the south-east emergency staircase missed his last check-in time and has not yet been found."

He couldn't breathe. The ice around his chest wouldn't let him suck any air in. As Tachibana continued to talk, the cold moved outward, encasing everything in an imprenatrable glacier. His limbs. His mind. His every sense. Fog shrouded his vision and Tachibana's voice faded until it was a mere echo reaching him across a giant chasm.

" _Hotel security… camera feed hacked… suspect kidnapping… no trace…. no leads… no…."_

The fog engulfed him, every patch of skin turning numb until he felt nothing. Heard nothing. Saw nothing. How had he let this happen? He'd been warned, but still he'd acted so confident. So convinced that everything was under control. Tachibana's words pounded over and over in his skull, mocking his presumption.

' _No leads…. no leads… no….'_

What sign had he ignored? What clue had he overlooked? Which enemy had lulled him into complacency or managed to hide from his view? And why hadn't he done more to prevent it? More than just increase her security? He could have put a full detail on her. Moved her to a safe house. Out of the country. Something. Anything. Risa had trusted him, put herself and everything she had in his hands.

And he. Had. Failed.

The cracking sound of a hard slap cut through the buzzing in his ears and accompanied a sharp pain which instantly snapped him back to awareness. Reflexively, he lifted his left hand to rub away the sting in his cheek and blinked at heavily pregnant woman in front of him.

She was rubbing her hand as if the blow she'd just administered had hurt her as much as it had him. "Sempai, snap out of it!" Haruhi commanded evenly, her chocolate brown eyes filled with sympathy. "Kyoya, I know you're thinking that you could have prevented this. That you believe you should have been able to control for every possible variable. But you don't have time for that right now. Not if you want to get Risa-chan back."

Her words reached down through the fog and ice trying to crush him. Through all the layers of fear, and guilt, and rage that wanted to consume him. All the way down to the part of him he kept tightly leashed, only to be let out when needed. To the Kyoya who was nothing but the man his father had raised him to be – cold, calculating, devoid of feeling, and completely, utterly merciless.

Taking a deep breath, he ruthlessly shoved every bit of emotion, every bit of self-doubt and recrimination, into a dark corner of his soul. It was all useless. None of it would help him. None of it would help Risa. He would just have to keep it there until later. Until he had time for it.

Haruhi peered up at him and gave a solemn nod of approval. "Good, you're back." When she took a step backwards, he noticed for the first time the rest of their friends grouped behind her. Each bore differing expressions of the same mix of emotions – sympathy, concern, and determination.

Tamaki stepped up alongside his wife. "We're all here for you, _mon ami_. All our resources are at your disposal."

"Sempai, you are the only person here who can do this," Haruhi said, "Now, tell us what you need."

Their combined offer of support threatened to undermine the tight grip he was keeping on himself. Glancing away, he pushed up his glasses to hide the emotion in his eyes and reassert his self-control. Later, when this was over, when Risa was back - that's when he would allow himself the luxury of gratitude.

Right now, he had a job to do.

"Tamaki, find my father and apprise him of the situation. _Quietly!_ " he ordered, "Tell him to spread the story that Risa fell ill and I took her home."

"Right away, _mon ami."_ Tamaki agreed and bounded towards the door. Turning around before he opened it, his brow wrinkled in confusion. "But going home early from your own party? Won't people find that suspicious."

"Not at all." Kyoya waved away the question. "Given how long we've been married most will simply assume she's pregnant."

Crossing off that item on the mental checklist he was forming, Kyoya moved on to his next item. "Haruhi, call Hikaru. Also, call my assistant and get the contact information for a woman named Amy Wagner. Have one of Tachibana's men patch both of them in via video chat. I want the name of the best hacker they know – white, black, or gray hat. As long as they'll be loyal to whoever is paying them."

Haruhi had started dialing the second he'd said Hikaru's name. When a sleepy and irritated voice picked up, she moved to the edge of the room and quietly began filling in the tech mogul on what had happened in hushed whispers.

Turning to his Security Chief, Kyoya briefed him on his next steps. "If we can trace back the hack of the hotel cameras we'll have our first lead. There are also a few people I need you to get on the line for me…" Tachibana's head nodded as he wrote down a list of names in his notebook. Ripping off the sheet, he handed it to one of his subordinates then went to check on his team's progress.

Kyoya moved closer to the two remaining Host Club members in the room. "Honey, Mori," he said in a low voice only they could hear, "I don't have anything for you to do right now, but…"

"Don't worry, Kyo-chan," Honey interrupted, his sugar-sweet tone laced with menace, "Once you've found the bad guys, Takashi and I will take care of them for you."

"Hn." Mori concurred with a solemn nod, his face taking on the unforgiving mien of his samurai ancestors.

Kyoya could only manage an imperceptible bow of his head in response, afraid any words he said would cause him to shatter. It was a discourtesy ill-befitting an Ootori, but both his seniors looked at him as if they understood better than most his need to shield himself from any hint of emotion.

Stepping to the middle of the room, Kyoya surveyed the frenetic activity around him. His initial instructions done, all he could do now was wait for them to be executed and help his team keep their focus by projecting the illusion of control. Ryan's words from that balcony meeting now sounded like a prophecy.

_'There's always gonna be a sum'bitch out there who things he's bigger, meaner, and stronger than you that needs to be smacked down.'_

An operation like this had to have some resources behind it. And that meant they would have left footprints. Somewhere would be a hint, a trace of who they were and what they wanted. And once he found that, he would follow it back to their lair and get his wife back. Safe and unharmed.

And then?

Kyoya's lips turned up in a predatory smile, lighting his eyes with an unholy glow. And then he would show the people who did this that he was more than just a player in the game – He was the God. Damn. King.

And he was going to burn their world to the ground.


	26. The Search

The cold woke her up.

Risa blinked her eyes rapidly a few times but it didn't make any difference. Eyes open or closed, everything looked exactly the same. Pitch Black. Tentatively, she raised her hands up to her face to make sure this wasn't some waking dream. The tightness around her wrists, anchoring them together, quickly convinced her it wasn't.

Awareness started to pierce through the cotton-candy feeling in her brain. Cold, dark, hands bound (thankfully in front of her and not behind), a familiar hum surrounding her and a vibration rising up through whatever surface her right side was lying on.

Adding it all together, her brain didn't like the conclusion the evidence pointed towards.

Testing her hypothesis, she stretched out her bare feet (what had happened to her shoes?) and immediately encountered a hard surface covered by a rough fabric that prickled her toes through her stockings. Reaching out blindly in front of her, resulted in her hands hitting cold, unyielding metal less than thirty centimeters from her face.

_Blyat!_

She repeated the sentiment in every language she knew. A car trunk. She was bound up and locked in a _bleeding_ car trunk! Guess there really were worse ways to spend an evening than at another society party. An urge to giggle overtook her and she fought it back. Great, now she was getting hysterical.

Risa shook her head, trying to clear out the cobwebs. Even through the fog shrouding her mind she knew something about her reaction wasn't right. Trapped in a small, dark space she should have crossed the 'hysteria' event horizon long ago and been well into a full-blown panic attack by now. The last few minutes before her memory went blank started to percolate up from the depths of her mind. A pair of hard eyes, a brief stab of pain, a syringe filled with… something.

The drugs. That had to be it. Whatever they'd injected her with was what made her feel more intoxicated than terrified.

It had been fast acting, under sixty seconds to onset at most. One of the barbiturates, maybe? Or something experimental. Or not meant for humans at all. Whatever it was, she was just grateful that enough of its anxiolytic effects were lingering. And that her abductors hadn't killed her through accidental asphyxiation.

Alright, an unknown agent and an unknown dose. Where did that leave her? She could have been out for hours already. They could be anywhere in the country. Or even out of the country if she'd slept through a plane ride.

But, her brain was functioning and it didn't have the sloggy feeling one got from prolonged, drugged sleep. And she didn't feel weak, or hungry, or have a desperate urge to pee. Her bound wrists chafed and her position was uncomfortable, but nothing felt numb from constricted blood flow. Also, her clothes seemed to be intact - even the bits that only kept her covered by defying physics. She'd stake good money on not having been out for long.

With most sedatives, the more rapid the onset the shorter the duration. That she even had the ability to try and analyze the chemical composition of what she'd been given meant it was already leaving her system. It was entirely possible she'd been unconscious for no more than ten minutes. Thirty minutes tops. Factoring in the time to smuggle her out of the hotel, they couldn't have gotten far. They might even still be in Tokyo.

Once, right before she'd moved to America in fact, her father had made her take a personal safety course. 'Kidnapping 101 for Rich Kids' was what she and her fellow attendees had jokingly called it. She didn't remember much, but one statistic had stood out – outside of countries which had turned it into a cottage industry, most kidnappings for ransom ended in death. If there was even a chance other people were around, she had to somehow call attention to herself.

The first rule of getting kidnapped, was don't get kidnapped. The second rule, was do everything you could to prevent them from taking you to whatever location they'd secured.

Risa clenched her teeth and desperately tried to recall lesson thirteen – how to get out of a locked car trunk.

* * *

"My men are canvasing their areas for anything out of the ordinary. If you'd like, I can also reach out to a some of the clan heads I trust and ask them to do the same."

"Thank you, Kasanoda-san." Kyoya nodded his consent, even though the gravelly voiced speaker on the phone couldn't see him. "Please tell them that if anyone finds information that is helpful, they will be well rewarded."

His voice sounded unnaturally calm to his ears, but he seemed the only one to realize it. The mask of politeness instilled in him practically since birth had risen up and taken over. In a way, he was grateful, it was the only thing keeping at bay the roiling black knot of fear and rage that had taken residence in the pit of his stomach. The only thing allowing him to think. To plan. To look at the metaphysical game board and see all the moves available to him and his unseen opponent.

"I'll pass the word around," Kasanoda replied, "If anyone in the Tokyo underworld knows anything about this, you'll know it as soon as I do."

"You can also tell them that if someone uncovers the exact location of my wife then I will be in their debt."

The pause at the other end of the line was heavy enough to sink a boat. "Ootori-san, do you understand what you're offering by saying that?"

"I do." That promise would allow the beneficiary to demand anything within Kyoya's power to give. His father wouldn't approve, but Kyoya was finding it increasingly hard to care about that. Right now, all he knew was that the only way to assuage the beast raging within was to get her back. No matter the cost.

"An Ootori in your debt," The yakuza leader mused, "That's a prize that could tempt even me."

Kyoya unconsciously pushed up his glasses, as if Kasanoda could somehow see the light glinting menacingly off them. "However, also let it be known that if the person who tries to profit is in anyway connected to it…" He trailed off, leaving the threat implied.

"Understood." Kasanoda's voice held a faint trace of approval. "For what it's worth, I don't think any of my lot are involved. Everyone knows there are three families in this country you don't go up against and the Ootoris are one of them."

"Who are the other two?" Kyoya asked, curiosity temporarily coming to the fore.

"Ask our sempais someday about what happened when someone was unwise enough to move against a Morinozuka branch family. An entire clan, fifty-three veteran men, disappeared off the face of the earth." Kasanoda chuckled, low and dark. "Something tells me that whatever you will do would be even worse. I understand. If it were Mei-chan, I'd give no quarter either. Good hunting, Ootori-san, I'll be in touch."

Kyoya thumbed the off button on his cellphone and repressed a curse at yet another lead culminating in a dead end. Kasanoda had only confirmed his own conclusions. He'd known reaching out to his _kohai_ had a slim chance of uncovering any leads, but he didn't have the luxury of leaving any avenue unfollowed.

From his station in a back corner of the room screened off for privacy, he surveyed the bee-hive of activity taking place. In the center of the room, row after row of security staff stared fixedly at their monitors as they scrolled through video footage from every camera they could lay their hands on. Hotel, traffic, CTV, someone had even hacked into the feeds for some of the local businesses. Tachibana paced back and forth between the main group and a smaller one in the midst of decorating the left wall with maps of possible locations the abductors could have reached, each minute that passed by adding another concentric circle to their projections.

In the right-side back corner, Tamaki and some of his staff were Skyping with Hikaru, Amy, and a pimply Indian kid who looked no more than fifteen. Collectively they were trying to trace the hack of the hotel's network back to its source. So far, no leads. Or, rather, too many – the source of the hack which disabled the cameras during the crucial time had been bounced around the globe so many times that no origin could be identified. The kid was barely able to keep the mix of admiration and envy off his face when he'd explained that.

Haruhi sat by her husband's side, reaching out every so often to squeeze his hand and then cast a concerned glance in Kyoya's direction. She needn't worry, there was far too much at stake for him to release his iron-tight grip on his emotions and fall apart again. Behind her, Mori leaned cross-armed against the back wall, silently nodding his head at something his bubblier cousin was saying. Not even a crisis could fully subdue the former loli-shota host, but even so there was an air about him that suggested he could spring into action at a moment's notice. No matter how sweet their natures, all Haninozukas were warriors at heart.

All this furious activity, all these resources, and it still wasn't enough. He felt like a sword-less Alexander staring at the Gordian Knot, scrambling to find the one thread to pull on which would cause the kidnapper's plot to unravel.

The sound of the door opening broke through the quiet hum filling the rest of the room. One of Tamaki's reception staff hovered on the threshold, holding a plain manila envelope like he expected it to explode in his hand. He looked back and forth uncertainly between Kyoya and Tamaki before Tachibana settled the matter of who he should deliver the package to by coming over and taking it from his hands. After a brief discussion, the messenger was dismissed and Tachibana hurried towards Kyoya's corner.

"Kyoya-sama, a young American man with a crew cut dropped this off for you at the front desk," he said, handing Kyoya the envelope

Opening it, Kyoya used one hand to tilt it up and slide out a thumb drive and a cell phone into his palm. He gave the drive to Tachibana, who immediately went to consult with one of the men at the bank of computers. Turning on the phone, Kyoya called the single number pre-programmed into it.

"I got your package, what do you have for me?" Kyoya asked as soon as the line was answered.

"Officially? Nothing. Not without a direct request from your government that would take far too long for those idiots in Washington to approve." Ryan's blunt answer, delivered in perfect, unaccented Japanese, was a sure sign of how worried he was. The knot in Kyoya's stomach grew bigger and began to wrap it's tendrils around his chest. "Unofficially, in light of your family's long association with the D.O.D., I've been asked to provide you with any assistance within my capacity up to and including boots-on-the-ground." He paused slightly for emphasis. " _Not_ that I expect they'll be needed."

"I have the operational side of things well in hand," Kyoya replied on cue. If the Texan didn't want American involvement, there would be a damn good reason. Most likely the American military considered preventing Risa's research from falling into 'frenemy' hands to be more important than her safe recovery. If they were involved, there was no guarantee she wouldn't be a victim of 'friendly fire.'

"Good." Ryan's reply only affirmed Kyoya's theory. "I have to ask, how certain are you that this isn't a routine kidnapping for money situation?"

"My contacts have assured me that scenario is very unlikely."

"So have mine. They all agree it would be a very stupid criminal who'd take on your family and this operation was too well planned for that. Damn it!" Ryan's curse ended with a sigh that sounded like the last vestige of a faint hope expiring. "The thumb drive I sent should help you. It contains dossiers for every known operative of any government or group that has an interest in the potential misuses of viral gene therapy and has the resources to do something about it."

Normally, Kyoya preferred to form his own judgments, make his own analysis, but time was short and every minute counted. If there was one thing he was certain of, it was that Wagner wouldn't deliberately mislead him or do anything that might harm the chances of getting Risa back safely. In other areas they might be rivals but when it came to this, the deceptively shrewd 'good-old-boy' was the only other player Kyoya trusted. "Any suggestions on where to start?" he asked, extending an offer of alliance.

"The Iranians are lying low right now." Ryan's military background showed forth in his clipped tone as he narrowed down the suspects. "They're too spooked by what our recent election means for their nuclear treaty to do anything bold. Cross off the 'independents' too. They don't have the money or facilities for R&D. They'd prefer to wait until the technology is developed and then steal or buy it from you. You can't count fully eliminate some of the small fry, but my money's on the Chinese, Russians, or North Koreans."

"But you have some doubts." Kyoya could sense some hesitancy on the other man's part and he zeroed in on it. "What are you leaving out?"

Ryan sighed deeply. "I hate to say it, but none of this smells right to me. Kidnapping a scientist outright is a rookie move. It's not like this is post-war Berlin! Well, I suppose I wouldn't put anything past the NK's – they're ten pounds of crazy in a five pound bag – but the Chinese and Russians? It's not their style. They prefer to get what they want with bribery and blackmail." This time the hesitancy was clear, as if he feared putting the next part into words. "What scares me, though, is that both those countries have a lot of internal factions who fight each other worse than a pair of starving coyotes over a fresh kill. They might not move against you directly, but if some third party offered one of them an opportunity to one-up their rivals, they wouldn't turn it down. And if that's the case…" He trailed off into silence.

"…Then the only way they can maintain that advantage is to make sure any potential competition is eliminated." Kyoya finished when it became clear Ryan wouldn't. Risa's research would be even more valuable if she were no longer around to build on it. "I won't allow that to happen."

"I'm going to hold you to that," Ryan vowed grimly, "I'll keep working things from this end. I'll call if I find anything useful. You..." His voice cracked slightly but he quickly recovered. "You just find our girl, Ootori."

* * *

Risa's hands closed around a thin tube of wires running parallel along the left side of the car and she heaved a sigh of relief. Stupid, efficient kidnappers – why couldn't they have had one of those cars with the glow-in-the-dark trunk release lever? She supposed not even someone willing to take on the Ootori family was that much of an idiot.

She'd found the cable, which hopefully would release the trunk, just in time. Whatever they'd injected into her was wearing off and her heart was fluttering against her ribs like the wings of a bird against a cage. Closing her eyes, she muttered a few words under her breath,"Cacti. Enraged Grizzly. Cheese Grater." As she'd rooted around in the dark for the cable, she'd found it calming to think up different ways that her husband might exact revenge on her abductors. That scenario was particularly effective and she chanted the key elements of it with the fervency of a nun reciting the rosary.

Feeling the panic subside a bit, she grasped the cable in both hands and debated whether to pull it. If they were still in Tokyo, then the chance of success was high. Even if she didn't escape, there were people and cameras everywhere. Somehow, she'd attract attention. Leave a trail for Kyoya to follow.

But what if they'd already left the city? Since she'd first woken up, the car's speed had increased and the number of stops and turns decreased - which suggested suburbs or country roads. An attempted escape with no potential witnesses would only aggravate her kidnappers and increase their guard, reducing her chances to try again.

The car began to slow and centrifugal force pushed her towards the left. Impulsively, her hands made the decision for her, pulling the cable just as it decelerated to what she hoped was a safe speed. The faint 'thunk' as the trunk released sent a burst of energy through her and she lifted herself up and over the bottom lip, tucking in her chin and throwing her arms up to protect her head and face.

Pain lanced through her right side as she hit the ground hard. Tumbling end-over-end, the pain continued to blossom as her elbows, knees, hips, and head collided over and over with the rough asphalt until friction brought her to a halt.

Groaning, Risa pushed herself up to her feet, shook off the disorientation, turned around and watched the brake lights of the car she'd been in accelerate and disappear around the back part of a curve. She had to hurry; it was only a matter of time until they noticed the trunk was open and came back. Before they did, she needed to reach safety. Or at least somewhere safer than the middle of the road.

Her surroundings didn't fill her with hope. There were no streetlights. No lights of any kind, although after the trunk the faint glow from the moon was practically blinding. To her right, near where she'd landed, was a metal barrier defining where the ground sloped down sharply towards a broad, fast flowing river. Across the river she could make out faint orange flickers, possibly from homes or cabins, but there was no way of crossing the river to reach them.

The left side of the road held even less promise. The slopes were too steep to scramble up, even if she had shoes and full use of her hands, and only offered sparse clumps of shrubbery as cover. Perhaps, though, there were houses hiding back up in there, all she had to do was find a side road or driveway.

Ignoring the stab of dirt and rocks against her stockinged feet, she half-limped and half-ran in the direction the car had been coming from. The road sloped downwards and curved back and forth sharply, forcing her to slow down so she didn't fall flat on her face.

She'd covered at least half a kilometer of distance, all without spotting any indications that anyone lived in the area, when she rounded a curve and saw a faint light flickering along the river up ahead. Distance was hard to calculate, they could be as close as a quarter kilometer away or as far as two. It could even just be a trick of the moon on the water. Regardless, she accelerated her pace.

The sound of an engine growing louder as it approached from behind caused a chill to shoot through her and spurred her to run faster. Frantically casting her eyes right and left, she searched for anyplace that could offer concealment and came up empty. A minute later, the car she'd just left behind appeared around the corner.

With no place to hide, no safe place to run to, all she could do was scream as hands grabbed her from behind and threw her back into the dark.

* * *

Immediately after entering the room, Ootori Yoshio caught his son's eyes and quirked his head towards the back corner. Kyoya quickly wrapped up his conversation with Tachibana, the latest in a series of updates which were nothing more than new ways to say 'no leads yet' and joined his father in the only location in the room where a discreet conversation could occur.

"I just finished a discussion with our bankers," Yoshio said without preamble. Reaching out as if to shake hands he pressed a folded piece of paper into his son's palm. "This is how much the family can contribute to any ransom demand should your own resources not prove enough."

Without even looking at it, Kyoya knew the amount would reflect, down to the last yen, the exact amount of value the Ootori Patriarch placed on Risa's skills as a scientist. Nothing else would have been taken into consideration – daughters-in-law were, after all, easily replaceable.

"Thank you, Father," Kyoya managed to say without a trace of sarcasm, knowing his father would expect him to be grateful that the offer was made at all. He shoved the paper into his suit pocked without looking at it. No matter what number was written on it, it would only anger him. Anything less than 'everything' would be an unforgivable insult.

Yoshio turned to face the room, making a show of surveying the men and equipment being consumed by the search. "What progress have you made so far?"

Reluctantly, Kyoya began outlining his efforts, fully aware that the bland tone he instinctively employed when speaking to his father made the search for his wife sound like a project status update. No doubt that's how his father, and his brothers, would be viewing it – a simple exercise in cost vs. benefit. Something to be abandoned if it overran its budget before it could produce. Even this early in the search he could already see the wheels turning behind his father's eyes, performing the cold calculations that would mark the point where a family member moved from being an asset to a liability.

Revulsion washed over him, forcing him to choke down bile in the back of his throat and continue tonelessly making his report. He felt his left hand curl into a fist and, unable force it to relax, moved his arm to hide it behind his back. Just standing next to his father, with that damned piece of paper alleging to reflect Risa's value weighing him down like a rock, made him feel tainted. Guilty by association. Ashamed. Never had the Ootori concept of 'merit' seemed so… empty.

" _Yatta!"_

The shout cut through the bleak direction of his thoughts and both Ootoris heads snapped towards its source. About half way down the bank of computer watchers, a young man was excitedly fist pumping the air. On noticing the attention he'd drawn to himself, he colored bright red and slouched back down in his seat. Kyoya's feet moved before he could think and, from opposite ends of the room, both he and Tachibana converged on the hapless guard.

The man immediately jumped to his feet and bowed, his eyes darting nervously back and forth between the two. "Sorry, sorry," he said while bobbing up and down like a drinking bird toy.

He looked familiar, but then so did most of the people who worked for him, and it took a second for Kyoya to riffle through his mental rolodex and place him as the guard he'd wanted to fire for speaking out of turn about the Mitzusaka situation. "Stop apologizing." Kyoya cut off the man's litany with a brusque wave, "Maita-san, wasn't it? Tell me what you found."

"Yes, Ootori-sama," the guard stammered, nervously looking to his boss for reassurance. At Tachibana's encouraging expression he took confidence and began to speak in rushed words. "Um… I've been running security footage taken in the public areas of the hotel through an image recognition program. Using the dossiers on the data stick I was given, I cross-referenced them against footage taken each day starting with the most recent." As he talked, Maita's posture relaxed and his words jumbled together faster and faster. The look of excitement on his face was palpable and Kyoya fought hard against the bubbling of hope rising in his chest. "Of course, the basic problem I had to deal with was the sheer amount of footage for the timespan so I…"

"Maita!" Tachibana reprimanded the enthusiastic young man, but not unkindly. Even his normally expressionless face was beginning to take on the sheen of new found optimism. "Just summarize for Kyoya-sama, please."

"Sorry, sorry." The guard's Adam Apple bobbed visibly as he gulped. "Uh… I figured out how to speed up the process and I ran all the footage up to the beginning of the month through the program. But, I didn't have any positive matches. So, on a hunch, I added in images from our HR database of current and former employees and ran it again. This time I got a match!" His eyes gleamed and he turned the monitor around to face his superiors and pointed to a man dressed as a tourist. "…This man, here. He was in the hotel three times in the last two weeks."

There on the screen was a face Kyoya knew too well. Wada. The incompetent guard he'd met his first day visiting the company. The man allegedly injured while on duty the day of the break-in. And one of the people loyal to Risa's uncle that Kyoya had discreetly pensioned off shortly thereafter. He felt his lips turn up in the smile of a tiger spotting his prey.

Pulling the noxious scarp of paper out of his pocket he held it out to his father. "Rather than money, Father, I'd prefer the name of your contact in the Public Security Intelligence Agency. The one who owes you a favor."

Yoshio's hand hesitated over the folded rectangle. His face was impassive but Kyoya knew he was mentally weighing the price he'd placed on Risa's life against the value of a favor owed by a high-placed government official. With a curt nod, he reached his decision and plucked the paper from Kyoya's fingers. "If that's what you'd prefer, I'll make the introductions." Pulling out his cell phone, he scrolled through an exhaustive list of contacts until he found the one he wanted and pressed the dial button. "What do you intended to ask for?" he asked while waiting for it to connect.

"Just access to some data. America's not the only country who spies on its citizens." Kyoya's smile widened as he stared at the screen containing his first concrete lead. "And now I know exactly where to start."


	27. The Mountain and the Hound

The middle-aged man flinched when the door slammed open. He quickly tried to cover it up but Kyoya, stepping inside the room and letting the door close behind him with a softly menacing 'click,' wasn't fooled. The beads of sweat dotting Tsuchiba Shigeru's forehead were a testament to the man's fear.

Good.

Some men could pull off dignified even when wearing their pajamas, but Risa's uncle wasn't one of them. Sitting at a metal table and chair bearing all the inviting warmth of an interrogation room, he was making a visible effort not to squirm in his seat. He'd even had to lace his fingers together tightly and rest them on the table in order to prevent them from fidgeting.

The fluorescent lights in the basement room Tamaki had lent for this purpose flickered overhead. Each time they did, Tsuchiba cast apprehensive glances at the ceiling, the walls, the table - anywhere but at the cool, self-possessed young man in front of him. Kyoya said nothing - he simply let his silence fill the room, sharpened his smile to the friendliness of a well-honed dagger, and waited for the man to break.

It didn't take long.

"Ootori!" Tsuchiba slapped the table for emphasis in a show of bluster. "What's the meaning of this? Your goons burst in and dragged me out of my house! This is illegal imprisonment!" He started to rise, but a heavy hand from one of the two guards flanking him pushed him back down in his seat.

"How else should I treat someone who breaks a contract?" Kyoya asked in a deceptively mild tone.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"When you… _left…_ Sakura Pharmaceuticals, I agreed to take care of a rather large debt you owed to some unsavory people. All I asked in return was for you to stay away from my wife and my company."

Shigeru swallowed and licked his lips. The man should never play poker – no surprise how he'd racked up five million yen in gambling debts. "And… and I've kept to my end. Haven't gone near either."

With a flick of his wrist, Kyoya tossed the file folder he was carrying onto the table. Documents and photos spilled out in an incriminating fan. He wasn't a supporter of the secret government program which compiled metadata on all email and cell phone calls within the country, but he had to admit that it certainly was convenient.

"Wha… what's this?" Shigeru hesitantly reached out and started leafing through them one by one.

"Earlier this evening my wife was kidnapped from this hotel." Shigeru's hands froze and his eyes flew up to meet his accuser's. Kyoya didn't miss that the fear in them was mixed with genuine confusion but he didn't let that sway him - her uncle might not be guilty of this crime, but he was far from innocent. "We've linked your old drinking buddy to the kidnappers. Those are records of emails, phone calls, and even banking transfers between you, Wada, and your son Kei. All coincidentally timed to her abduction."

The beads of sweat on the older man's forehead turned into rivers. "Where… how…"

Kyoya responded with silence, letting the man stew in his own juices and ratcheting up the tension in the room until the slightest amount of pressure would cause his opponent to snap.

"This… this is all circumstantial. We're old friends, of course we keep in touch." Shigeru again broke far too quickly. Really, putting the man in charge of a company was practically criminal negligence on the part of Risa's grandfather. "And… and there's nothing wrong with lending money to a friend." The papers in Shigeru's hands shook in time with his stammer.

"Oji-san, this isn't a court of law." Kyoya gestured at the bare room and cement block walls. "You don't need to convince a jury or a judge of your innocence." Pushing his glasses up in a way he knew would cause the light to glare in Tsuchiba's eyes, Kyoya closed in for the kill. "You need to convince me."

Risa's uncle's bared his lips back in the snarl of a rabid dog backed into a corner. "Or what? You'll have your goons beat me? I'll report you for assault." He threw back his shoulders and puffed out his chest in display of bravado. "No – I'll tell the press! You'll never live down the scandal!"

Kyoya's single, sharp laugh cut off Shigeru's fantasizing. "I won't have to do a thing to you. Your debts weren't paid off, the holder merely agreed to waive them in consideration of our long standing acquaintance. One word from me and you will owe every last Yen of it again in full." He let that sink in for a minute, waiting until the terror drilled down into the bone. "I've heard the Kasanoda Syndicate can be very _creative_ in the ways they find to get a return on their investment."

Shigeru was now sweating so hard he was wiping it away from his face with his hands. He clutched at the papers before him, smearing black ink all over his hands. "Look… I had nothing to do with this. The only thing I've done…" His breathing quickened when he realized what he'd let slip out.

Kyoya pulled back the chair opposite his guest and sat down. Leaning forward, he propped his chin on folded hands and pierced the man with a gaze that brooked no mercy. "My wife's time is running out, Tuschiba-san, and so is yours. Whatever you've done, whatever you know, if you have a hope of saving yourself - Tell. Me. Now."

Fear won out over defiance and Shigeru started babbling like a sinner facing his execution. "The only thing I've done was sell some information about company security. But that was months ago! Risa might have chosen you over me, but she's still my brother's child. She's still family and I wouldn't hurt her…" His face closed off as if he'd suddenly realized something.

"But Kei would." The terror in the old man's eyes confirmed Kyoya's hunch. "That's what you were going to say, wasn't it? That your son is the one behind this? Too bad it looks like both he and your 'good friend' have abandoned you. They've dumped their cell phones and gone off the grid, leaving you to take the fall. "

The older man closed his eyes in resignation. When he opened them again the fear was replaced by deep sorrow. "I… I might have something that could help you. But I won't just give it to you."

"Name your price." Kyoya could barely conceal his disgust. "How much to save your niece's life?"

"I… I don't want money." Taking a deep breath, he locked eyes with Kyoya. "I want your promise that you won't kill him. No matter what he's done, he's my only son."

The request took Kyoya by surprise, but he didn't let it register on his face. He'd always considered himself a pragmatist above all else - it should have been a simple matter to promise Kei's safety in exchange for what he needed. But it wasn't. His desire to hurt the people who had done this was so raw it was almost visceral. However, if it meant getting Risa back, he could overlook his need for vengeance.

But only up to a point.

"Shigeru-san," he replied in carefully measured tones. "The most I can guarantee is that Kei will share in Risa's fate. If she is returned safely, he will come to no harm from me."

The desperate father considered that for a minute and then slowly nodded his acceptance.

"About a week ago, I found a cell phone in the trash. It wasn't one I'd seen Kei with before. At the time, I had a feeling it could be something that was important so I kept it." Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out a keyring, pulled off a small silver key, and slid it across the table. "It's in the top left hand drawer of my desk."

Kyoya grabbed the key and stood to leave, turning to address the two security guards as he left. "Please keep Tsuchiba-san comfortable. I'm afraid I can't allow him to leave just yet."

As he walked out the door, from the corner of his eye he saw the Shigeru bury his head in his arms as if he were crying.

* * *

Risa raised her bound hands to rub ineffectually at her neck. Her throat ached from where one of her captors had jerked her necklace off while trying to shove her back in the trunk.

Or maybe it was just sore from all the screaming.

When they'd closed the trunk door on her, trapping her back in the darkness, she'd been unable to stop. At the time, they'd injected her with something but it wasn't the same stuff as at the hotel. It had taken more time to kick in and she'd shouted and pounded against the sides and top of the trunk almost the entire rest of the journey. Whatever the drug was, it was doing its job now. Not enough to eliminate her feeling of blood-curdling terror, but enough to take the edge off the panic. Between the sedative and the adrenaline, she could just about think.

Sitting on a futon sofa that had seen better days, she had plenty of time to consider her circumstances and it wasn't looking good. Her current prison was larger than the trunk, but also more limiting. The single room left no leeway for hiding anything from the eyes of her captors. In fact, there was barely enough furniture for all of them to sit alone.

Aside from the living area - if you could call a ratty sofa, a rough-hewn coffee table, and a postage stamp sized TV set a living area, the only other furniture of any consequence was a wooden dining table with two chairs on the opposite side of the room near the kitchenette. At least the pine-paneled room's sparse furnishing was balanced by the overabundance of stuffed animals hanging on the walls, dangling from the ceiling, and perching on every other available flat surface. It lent an air of 'serial killer chic' to the place that would otherwise be sorely lacking.

One corner of space against the left wall had been cleared of taxidermy and covered in a white sheet. When they'd first entered, the bigger of her two captors, a giant of a man who she'd mentally dubbed 'the Mountain,' had moved one of the dining chairs there and pushed her into it. His compatriot, a short, wiry and incredibly hairy man who she'd naturally labeled 'the Hound.' had setup a video camera and handed her a piece of paper to read aloud – along with strict instructions not to 'try anything funny.' She still barely remembered the words on them, just enough to recognize they were making a proof-of-life video. After that, she'd been tossed onto the sofa and left alone.

The door to her left led back outside. She'd seen enough on the walk from the car to this semi-dilapidated cabin to know they were in the middle of nowhere. Outside the walls there was nothing but forest and stars. No other houses, no cars, not even ambient light pointing the way towards civilization. There were scattered patches of unmelted snow on the ground and the night had been bitterly cold. It was an open invitation to death by hypothermia.

One of the two doors in the wall to her right was a bathroom that they had generously let her use unsupervised. When she'd flipped the light on, she'd had to wait a minute for all the bugs to finish crawling back to their hiding places. But she would have considered the creepy-crawlies an acceptable trade off if it wasn't for the lack of a handy window to crawl out of. The other door was a mystery and she silently pleaded with the gods she didn't believe in that it be a bedroom. Her vague memories of 'Kidnapping 101' implied that her best hopes of survival were to isolate herself from them.

Perhaps she could find a way to convince them to lock her in there where she'd be away from prying eyes and less likely to attract their attention. She watched her captors from under lowered lashes, trying to identify any openings. The Hound was rattling around the kitchen, making some kind of curry dish from the smell of it. The Mountain lurked at the table, his frame dwarfing it until it resembled the stage for a child's tea party.

The more she looked at him, the more he seemed to fit the name she'd given him. He was tall, probably taller than Mori, and as wide across as two men. His nose looked like it had been broken more than once and he had a scar across his right eye from where a blow must have split the skin open to the point where it needed stitches. Ears resembling cauliflowers backed up her conclusion that he was accustomed to brawling. Underneath a couple layers of fat, she could see thickly corded muscles bunch when he moved and his grip earlier on her arm only reinforced her impression that he was much stronger than he looked.

And he was watching her.

From where he was sitting, she was in his direct line of sight and he didn't move his eyes away or turn his head, even when his partner cursed loudly after accidentally dropping a pan. The Mountain's eyes roamed over her slowly, making her uneasy and far too aware of how her bra showed through the rips in her dress she'd received when tumbling down the road. Everyplace his gaze touched her seemed to leave an oily-feeling residue in its wake.

The Hound stepped in between them, placing dishes on the table for himself and his partner and Risa let out the breath she'd been unconsciously holding. "Oi!" He waived his hand in front of the larger man's face as he sat down. "Knock it off. The guy said she wasn't to be harmed until he'd got the payment."

The part of Risa that might have been relieved at that was outvoted by the part that was hung up on the word 'until.'

"Eh? Why?" The massive man's chair scraped loudly against the floor as he slid it over so he could keep watching her. He caught her looking at him and gave a thin smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Nothin' like a few bruises to get a mark to pay up fast."

"But it's never just a _few_ bruises with you, is it?" The Hound slammed his utensils down on the table. "I ain't gonna have you mess up another payout for me. Not one this good." Standing up, he stomped over to the sofa, grabbed Risa roughly by the arm and hauled her to her feet. "Out of sight, out of mind, right?" He dragged her towards the second door.

Risa pretended to struggle in order to mask her elation. They were doing what she wanted on their own! Even if she couldn't manage to escape, it would still be safer than staying in the same room. But, as her smaller captor pushed open the door, she could see just enough of the interior to realize that it was small. And dark. And she would be trapped. Her heart dropped and her stomach rose up to meet it.

Thrusting her inside and slamming the door behind her, she barely heard the Hound say, "You can play later. _After_ we get the dough."

Sinking down against the door, she buried her face in her knees. She couldn't stay here, even if it was better than being under the Mountain's lecherous gaze. Luckily, the drugs were still taking some of the edge off but if she kept huddling here in the dark that would soon change. Taking three deep breaths to steady herself, she rose up on shaking legs and felt around for a light switch. Seeing what you were up against was always better than imagining it.

The sudden burst of illumination hurt her eyes and she shut them tightly. Another breath and she cautiously opened them. Then opened them wider as she grasped what she was seeing. She could feel a slow smile spread across her face. They didn't know it, but they'd just fallen victim to one of the classic blunders:

Never get involved in a land war in Asia.

Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line.

And never, ever lock a badass biochemist in a _janitor's closet!_

* * *

Kyoya kept half an ear tuned to the discussion swirling around him but his attention remained locked on the proof of life video he played soundlessly over and over again on his cell phone. The ransom demand had come in five minutes ago and, immediately after, he'd pulled his ad-hoc war council to this corner of the room where their debate wouldn't be overheard.

Not that their arguments would make any difference to his decision, but some people felt the need to be included in the process.

"I've already arranged with our family accountants to acquire the five million dollars in internet currency." Kyoya's father, a case study for men who needed to feel in charge, had already assumed control of the conversation. "Once it's dropped to the location they provided, is there any way to trace it?"

"We'll try," Hikaru replied from the laptop with his face on it being held by Tamaki. "But the whole point of 'untraceable internet currency' is that it can't be traced. Plus, whoever they have running the tech side knows his stuff."

"I was expecting them to ask for money." Tamaki's face wrinkled up in confusion. "Buy why did they demand access to your offices."

"Not the offices, the server room," clarified the head of Sakura Pharmaceutical's IT Security division. A plump woman with bushy hair and owl-like glasses, she'd been pulled out of the downstairs bar where she and some colleagues had been holding an after party. "Since the break…" She looked nervously at her boss and switched what she had planned to say. "Since a reevaluation of our security procedures earlier this year, we restricted access to our mission critical research data. We locked it down in a wired, internal network with fixed access points and encrypted it with a public key algorithm."

Hikaru nodded sagely at this while everyone else looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "If the access terminals are connected to the internet, aren't you still vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle attack?"

"No, because…" Kyoya tuned out the reply and watched the video again while his IT Director and Hikaru spoke 'geek' at each other.

They'd hurt her.

Every exposed piece of Risa's skin was abraded, as if she'd been dragged along rough ground. A red welt circled her throat like a necklace and thin, finger-like bruises marred her left cheek. But it was the fear lining her face while her hands trying desperately to cover her breasts with the tattered pieces of her bodice that had hit him like a blow to the solar plexus.

If her abductors had meant for their brutal treatment of her to motivate him, then they had succeeded. But, if they meant for it to anger him to the point he made mistakes, then they had the wrong man. Because the anger that burned through his veins was colder than liquid helium and would be far more deadly. The men who'd done this to her were going to die. He looked again at her ruined gown and resolved that if they'd hurt more than just her face, he was going to make certain that death could be measured in centimeters.

"Young lady," Yoshio growled, cutting across both Kyoya's thoughts and the techno-babble. "I'd appreciate it if you could rephrase that using Japanese this time."

"So…. sorry, Ootori-sama." Taking a deep breath she tried again, using simpler words. "The servers containing all of Ootori-sensei's research can only be accessed by someone physically in the building and only by using a computer with a secret key that will 'unlock' the data. In other words, they can't get the data without going into the building and if they don't have the right key it will just be gibberish."

"That's why they also demanded an encryption key be delivered as part of the ransom," Hikaru interjected.

"And after they make a copy of the data?"

"Hard to say," replied the Director, "But if it were me I'd upload a logic bomb to corrupt the data and the entire network and then demagnetize the on-site tape backups. That is, if they know about those too."

"They probably do," said Hikaru, "Someone definitely did their homework."

"I see." Yoshio waved his hand peremptorily. "In that case, letting them into the building is out of the question. That data is potentially worth billions of dollars and is critical to the future of the company."

The tone of his rejection was so blasé that Kyoya's right hand instinctively formed a fist. But, as satisfying as punching his father in the face would be, it would be even more counter-productive. Closing the video, he pushed it into the corner of his mind marked 'later' and reclaimed the power he'd never actually ceded.

"Tachibana," Kyoya commanded, "Make arrangements to clear the building and turn off the security cameras as requested. We have less than fifteen minutes to comply with their deadline."

The pale haired man grunted an acknowledgement and spoke quietly into his cell phone while all other eyes turned to Kyoya. Tamaki and Hikaru wore matching expressions of amazement mixed with awe but the Ootori Patriarch's looked like a man who's faithful dog had not only turned on him, but had pulled out a knife and fork, tied a napkin around his neck, and sat down at the table to eat dinner.

"Kyoya, don't be a fool!" Yoshio scowled once he'd recovered from the shock. "You are an Ootori - I expect you to be able to keep your eye on the bigger picture. There is still plenty of room to negotiate, but if you let that research out of your grasp it will spell the end for Sakura."

With his free hand, Kyoya pushed his glasses up and met his father's fire with an icy glare. "A free hand in running things, Father, those were the terms of the arrangement you and I came to. My company, my decision."

"You know that no Chairman is truly free to do as he wants. As a board member, I can't allow you to destroy the company." Yoshio pulled out his cell phone. "And the others will agree with me."

Faster than a cobra, Kyoya snatched the phone out of his father's hands. "Tachibana, please make sure my father doesn't leave the room or contact anyone until the ransom transaction is completed."

The Security Chief sprung immediately to action and with a gentle, yet firm grip on his former employer's bicep, he guided the Ootori Group Chairman over to a chair against the wall before summoning two roaming security personnel to stand guard.

"Kyoya, let me be clear - _impetuousness_ is not a trait I consider conducive to future advancement within the Ootori Group." Yoshio sat down in the chair provided with all the dignity of a deposed monarch. "I hope you realize what you are risking by doing this."

"I do, Father." The younger man's shoulders sagged minutely as he turned away and muttered under his breath, "But it's not as much as I'd be risking if I didn't."


	28. The Escape

This janitor's closet sucked.

What kind of supply cabinet didn't have pressurized oxygen tanks? Okay, probably most of them outside of a hospital or dive shop. But it was so unfair! She had the spaghetti noodles and the pipe - if she only had oxygen tanks she could make a thermal lance and use it to…

Well, given that the walls of this place were wood and not metal, at best she could burn a lovely patina into them and, at worst, die horribly when she burned the cabin down.

MacGyvering her way out of a locked room was a lot harder than Risa had thought it would be - especially one with no windows and with two guards in a single room on the other side. Without the guards, getting out through the door would be easy. There was even a small toolbox with a screwdriver, hammer, and other supplies for hanging pictures and making minor home repairs. With that, she could just take off the hinges or remove the doorknob.

The only other option was to go through the back wall – and that meant destroying it somehow. Even if she had the equipment, sawing or chopping through would take too long and be noisy, thermal cutters would set the place on fire, and blowing through it wasn't possible with the materials she had.

The problem with bombs wasn't in creating them; it was in channeling the energy usefully. With a fuse, something flammable (of which there was plenty of in this tiny cupboard), and a way to keep the gasses created from escaping, any idiot could build a bomb – which would promptly take them out when it exploded in indiscriminate directions. Without a way to funnel the exothermic reaction in the direction she wanted, there was just as much chance it would kill or maim her as destroy the wall.

And if she had a death wish she'd just mix the bottle of bleach with the toilet bowl cleaner and die in a cloud of chlorine gas.

Now if she had a heat source and a way to accurately measure things, she could have a lot of fun. There were enough supplies locked in with her to make Molotov cocktails, a decent pipe bomb or two, even some acetone peroxide. The room was obviously a dumping ground for everything that didn't fit out front – pantry items, linens, Costco-sized bottles of cleaning supplies, recycle bins, and random items leftover from home improvement projects. A cache of paint supplies had provided he razor-blade paint scraper she used to sever the zip-tie around her wrists. It had also been a very handy tool for altering a couple wool blankets into an unattractive poncho. If she did make it outside, it would delay the death by hypothermia for a while.

Plus, the closet was fracking _cold!_

Grabbing one of many plastic bottles off the shelf, she opened it and gulped down something carbonated with a syrupy-sweet strawberry flavor. It was disgusting, but better than the caffeinated alternatives which would leave her feeling even more dehydrated. There was a jumbo-sized box of energy bars next to the beverages so at least she wouldn't starve. On the off chance that she'd get out, she wrapped some of the soda and the bars tightly in a piece of sheet cut down to size with her new favorite tool.

With another gulp, she finished the bottle and her hand instinctively threw it in the recycle bin. She stopped and looked at the bin, then at a pile of random outdoor summer equipment, and then ran them along the shelves picking out items she'd noticed earlier.

Hmmm…. this place had more potential than she thought.

* * *

"Did you secure what I requested?"

"Of course," Ryan replied, ignoring Kyoya's lack of greeting when answering the phone. One of the few nice things about the American was that he understood when time was too important to waste. "My superiors don't want to lose either your family's good will or the chance to have you owe them a favor. We'll have eyes in the sky in fifteen minutes."

"They'll have at least one vehicle change planned in case I'm following them," Kyoya warned.

"Oh, please! This is a gen-u-ine, American, military-grade gizmo, not some ten thousand yen kid's toy you could buy off the street in Akihabara. It can track multiple targets for as long as needed." Ryan paused for a second. When he spoke next, the faux-geniality was gone and his tone almost reassuring. "Don't worry, Ootori, we'll run 'em to ground sooner or later."

It was the 'later' that worried Kyoya. Multiple options required time to isolate the signal from the noise – time he didn't have. But the alternative, trying to follow on land, was too risky. Being spied on via a high-tech drone hovering five-thousand meters overhead wasn't something they could anticipate.

He hoped.

"They'll be expecting some kinda trick," Ryan said as if he'd somehow detected Kyoya's fears, "Nobody who knows you would expect you to give in this easy."

"Nobody who really knew me would be stupid enough to do something like this in the first place," Kyoya replied with deadly intent. "I've held back the encryption key to make them think that's my plan. That I'll use turning it over to delay or extract concessions from them."

"If it gets to that point, they'll hurt her. Both as punishment and incentive."

Kyoya closed his eyes. "I know. But the minute they have everything they want, they'll kill her."

Ryan's silence spoke volumes. One of his other good points – he didn't offer false hope.

"Got anything else for me?" Ryan asked at last, changing the subject back to tactical matters. To things that were within their ability to control.

"We've cross-referenced the call log on Kei's burner phone to a couple unregistered phones that frequently accessed cell towers near the Russian embassy. I'll send you the numbers; you may have more… _resources_ than I do to find out who they belong to."

"I'm sure whatever you are implying would be highly illegal and a betrayal of trust between our two governments," Ryan drawled humorlessly, "But I'll see what I can do."

The call ended as abruptly as it started.

Kyoya slipped the burner phone back in his pocket to await their next exchange. He and the American 'not-a-spy' would never be friends. Yet, in some perverse way, he was one of the only people Kyoya could fully confide in. Under that 'good-old-boy' façade beat the heart of a stone cold pragmatist who would use any means at his disposal to protect the things he cared about. Someone who could look on the world as it was, not as he wanted it to be. Someone who saw the patterns and connections hidden in the shadows and twisted them to his benefit.

No, they could never be friends - they were too much alike. But they could be allies.

Tachibana caught his employer's eye and waved him over towards the team working around the giant wall map. "Kyoya-sama, we have found something in Kei-san's call log," he said as soon as Kyoya drew near.

Maita, who was hovering by the security chief's elbow, immediately began speaking – his words coming so fast there was no room for breaths between them. "I traced three of the calls to estate agents in and around Tokyo. I figured he might be using a rental property as a safe house so I went to their websites and correlated the timing of the calls to properties that were on the market."

The young man moved over to the large map on the wall. Pushpins decorated several spots within the perimeter that represented the max distance the abductors could have traveled. "There are twelve places within the search area and two on the border. The red pins are ones that are currently rented and blue those still vacant. They could be using either."

Kyoya's eyes swept over the map. A few of the places were in Tokyo, those he would have the Black Onion Squad quietly surveille. But the ones in the surrounding region, especially the rural areas, were too far away and too far apart. It could take hours for even local resources to check on all of them in the time he estimated they had left. He needed more information, he couldn't afford to commit his forces in the wrong direction.

"Good work," he acknowledged. The formerly disgraced guard glowed at his boss's praise and puffed out his chest. "Try and contact the agents he talked to, send someone to their house if necessary. We need to narrow the field."

Maita almost shouted his "Yes, Kaicho!" and immediately sat down at his station to begin typing furiously on his terminal.

With a few parting instructions to Tachibana about the Tokyo locations, Kyoya returned to the main bank of computers and took up residence behind a woman monitoring the front of Sakura's headquarters from the CCTV camera across the street. No more than five minutes had passed before she turned her head to him and murmured, "Kaicho,they're entering the building now."

On the screen before him he watched as two men with lap top bags, their identities concealed by hoods, glasses, and baseball hats, walked inside.

Risa's time was starting to run out.

* * *

Risa looked down at the meager arsenal she'd assembled and wondered if claustrophobia had driven her insane. What in the name of Rube Goldberg was she thinking? This was a ridiculous plan. Preposterous. Absurd. She had, at best, about a ten percent chance of pulling it off – five if the first person through the door wasn't the big guy.

Fear whispered that staying put was the better survival scenario. After all, Kyoya was coming for her. It was one of the fundamental laws of the universe – energy can't be created or destroyed, PV = k, and Kyoya was coming for her. When his men arrived, being away from her captors would make it easier for them. Less chance of her becoming collateral damage. But...

But she was pretty certain they were going to kill her. They'd let her see their faces, even called each other by names she refused to grant them. They weren't running the show, she'd deduced that much from the one phone call they had made, but that didn't make their intentions any less clear. As long as whoever was in charge needed her, as long as she was useful, she'd stay alive. After that…

She didn't want to die. Not yet. There was too much left she wanted to do, to experience. She hadn't unleashed Ryan's zombie apocalypse. Or played Hikaru's new game. Or seen Amy finally fall in love. Or held Haruhi and Tamki's daughter. Or...

Or told her husband she loved him.

Kyoya was so clever it was scary, but he wasn't a superhero. He wasn't guaranteed to swoop in at the nick of time and save the day. And the person who planned this had done their homework – they'd known enough to predict what _bathroom_ she would use! Whatever deadline (no pun intended) was approaching, it would be soon. Because they had to know that giving Ootori Kyoya time to plan a counter-attack was a fatal mistake.

All she had to do was incapacitate her captors. Distract them long enough to get out the front door. Once in the woods, the playing field would be level. She would be on foot, but so would they. She couldn't use a flashlight without revealing her location, but neither could they. If she headed down hill and downstream she'd hit civilization. At the very least, she'd buy herself some precious time.

Risa checked her weapons and the equipment hanging from her side – the scraper had turned her dress into the world's most expensive tool belt - and went over the plan in her mind. Five to ten percent. It wasn't much, but even one percent was better than zero.

Besides, she couldn't die here – the Nobel Prize wasn't awarded posthumously.

* * *

Kyoya hated waiting.

It wasn't that he was an impatient man, far from it, but _waiting_ wasn't the same as biding his time. There was a type of peace to that. An anticipatory stillness in knowing that his prey would soon come within reach and he'd pounce.

 _Waiting_ was different. It was a gray fog that pressed in around him, sucking away at his energy. Without form or weight, it pummeled him worse than a heavyweight boxer in the ring. Reminded him helpless he really was. How little was within his ability to control.

He hadn't felt like this since he was fifteen. Since before he'd taken his fate into his own hands.

His friends, his employees, - hell, even his father - was looking at him with the awed anticipation people gave to magicians. Like at any moment they were expecting him to pull a rabbit out of his hat. He didn't have the heart to tell them that he'd already done everything he could. Used every resource. Called in every favor. Put every contingency plan in place. Now, all he could do was hope in the vagaries of good fortune and wait.

And he really, really hated waiting.

The cell phone in his hand rang and the hope of a new lead cleared away some of the fog like a brisk breeze. "Yes?"

"Vadim Andropov." Ryan cut straight to the point. Kyoya could grow to appreciate that. "Low level cultural affair officer and not-so-secret FSB operative. No family connections, but a couple high placed sponsors."

"The type to act without orders?"

"Company man through-and-through. Perfect guy to take a fall though – Dima can hold his tongue as well as any old-school mafia or yakuza man. Ex-Spetsnaz so not much scares him."

Perhaps. But, right now, Kyoya was not above using methods that would make even hardened interrogators blanch. "Location?"

"Off the grid." The sigh which accompanied those words held enough frustration for the both of them. "Ditched all the cells we could track to him and evaded any cameras in the area right after his work ended this evening. Hasn't made contact with anyone on our surveillance list since then."

"Is someone protecting him?" Kyoya didn't mean the Russians. The waters of international murky were murky and full of tangles.

"Probably," Ryan admitted with a snarl that could tear through metal, "But it sure as hell ain't me. I'll keep trying to find the bastard. Any movement on your end?"

"They're still inside." Kyoya looked as his watch; it had been about fifteen minutes. "Should be coming out soon."

"We'll pick them up as soon as they do and, with luck, they'll lead us straight to the folks who know where Risa is." Once again, Ryan hung up without another word.

Kyoya relayed the information to the nearby Tachibana and returned to watching the screen. Another name that only lead to another blocked trail. Back to waiting.

The gray fog of 'waiting' rolled back in.

Five minutes later, movement attracted his eye and he watched the two thieves exit the building. "Do you have them?" he asked the young man to his right who was patched into the output from Ryan's high-tech drone.

"Yes, Kaicho." The boy, barely out of high school by appearance, was fighting a losing effort against an impressed smile. "They're as clear as if they were in this room. So cool!" A sharp glare from Tachibana was enough to suppress the security guard's geeking out.

Kyoya turned to Tachibana. "As soon as they are out of sight, get a team to sweep the building and secure the server room." There was a chance that if they acted fast enough, they could undo whatever damage the men may have done.

The men, identities still concealed, got into a black van and the box around the targets changed its focus. As the vehicle drove off, the drone camera trained on it stayed with them, regardless of the evasive actions they were taking to elude any followers. This thing was everything Ryan had promised. Secretly, Kyoya found it pretty cool.

On another screen, a platoon of the Black Onion Squad was approaching Sakura headquarters. Right as they reached the door, the war room erupted in a cacophony of buzzing and beeping when a dozen cell phones went off at once. Kyoya checked the message on his phone and sighed. So much for luck favoring them – the thieves had set the server room on fire.

Tachibana started shouting orders into his phone and Kyoya turned back to observing the stream from the spy drone. The black van entered a tunnel and the guard watching timed, to the second, how long it took to emerge. He scribbled some calculations down, nodded, and made some key strokes - seven new boxes immediately appeared around other vehicles.

"They took too long to come out given the entrance and exit velocity," he replied to Kyoya's look of inquiry, "I asked the operator to grab and track all the other vehicles that exited within a minute on either side of the van. I'll follow the primary target and we've patched the feed for the other targets to the rest of the team so they can work on eliminating them based on when they entered the tunnel, their destination, occupants and so on."

Kyoya nodded and let the man return to his work. Around him, the room was a hive of furious activity but he couldn't find enough energy to participate in it. The feeling of _waiting_ was bogging him down. Only the thin thread of hope offered by the little moving boxes was keeping him from sinking fully into the fog. Out of everyone in this room, only he understood that Risa's fate, his fate, was now entirely in the hands of Lady Luck.

And she could be a real bitch.

* * *

Risa finished strategically placing a few things on the shelves where they'd be in easy reach and checked the gear hanging at her waist. Satisfied that her preparations were complete, she placed her ear against the door and listened carefully to discover what her captors were doing. The clink of utensils against plates and clatter of bottles placed them still at the table, eating dinner.

Good. That meant no barrier between her and the door.

She didn't believe in gods, but there was no harm in hoping that the spirits of the dead didn't fade completely. Closing her eyes, she said a brief prayer to her father and grand-father and Kyoya's lost brother asking them to help her. When she reopened her eyes, she set her jaw with determination, reached her arm behind her, and swept half-a-dozen bottles of dish detergent off a shelf. They landed on the floor with a series of impossible to miss thuds.

Pressing her ear back against the door, she listened for sounds of movement. One of the men, she couldn't tell who, muttered 'I'll check' and a chair scraped loudly against the floor. Working as fast as she could, she dropped a piece of aluminum foil into a plastic bottle, sealed the lid tight, and shook it. Placing the bottle on the shelf opposite, she moved to stand just behind where the door would open.

As soon as she saw the hand on the doorknob, she knew it was the smaller of her two jailers. Too bad, but there was no going back now. As soon as he'd moved past the protection of the door, she stepped forward and used her right hand to press her homemade stun gun up against the bundle of nerves below his rib cage.

The voltage wasn't very strong, but what else could you expect from something jury-rigged out of a bug zapper, nails, and duct tape. He didn't collapse, only shook his head in disorientation. But it distracted him enough that he didn't see her left hand thrusting forward to drive the screwdriver she held into his groin.

 _That_ caused him to fall to his knees.

As he doubled over, Risa dropped the taser and grabbed a paint can that felt at least three-quarters full. It collided with his left temple with a satisfying 'thud.'

Grabbing the bottle from the shelf she stepped over the Hound's body without checking to see if he was out. The larger man was still at the table, just rising to his feet. She threw the bottle, which was already beginning to expand from the aluminum interacting with the hydrochloric acid in the drain cleaner, right at his head. She didn't look to see if it connected, just ran as fast as she could for the door.

The muffled 'pop' of the bottle exploding reached her ear just as she flung open the door to freedom.

* * *

"Kaicho!"

The summons, an excited exclamation coming from one of the people monitoring police bands within the search zone, had both Kyoya and Tachibana bolting across the room.

When they got there, the woman who'd called out was smart enough not to keep them waiting. "I got a hit on one of the search algorithms. Some late season backpackers staying in a cabin on the Kosuge River reported hearing a woman screaming. They ran outside to check it out, but all they saw was a car driving off. One of them had the idea to search the area and they found a necklace of small, diamond encrusted mice."

The fog burned off in a flash and the thrill of once more being the hunter rocked through Kyoya's body. "When was this?"

"About an hour ago. Their cell phones didn't work so they had to drive to the police station in Kofu."

Kyoya moved over to the giant map. "Show me."

The woman checked a note in her hand and walked her fingers on the map along the Ome Highway past Lake Okutama until she reached a barren spot on the map. "Here."

Kyoya's eyes rapidly followed the maze-like roads over all possible directions the car could have taken. "Two locations reachable from there." He pointed to two pushpins by the sides of different roads. "How long for law enforcement response?"

"The prefecture police station is about an hour away," replied a different one of the interchangeable guards and technicians without looking up from his screen

"Kyo-chan," Kyoya looked down to find his blonde sempai standing by his elbow. He and his cousin had quietly joined the group clustered by the map without drawing any attention. "My family has a training facility near there. Most of the students are military or law enforcement."

Mori reached up to tap a location equidistant from the two houses Risa could be in. The tall host had his cell phone up to his ear and he covered the mouthpiece with one hand to elaborate. "Classes in search and rescue, mountain survival, and rural hostage recovery. Six instructors. Fifty-eight current students."

"We can have a team at each location in fifteen minutes. I'ts okay, Kyo-chan," Honey chirped, fitting a headset over his blonde curls to lead the operation. "This is what Takashi and I do."

* * *

The gravel cut into Risa's bare feet as she dashed across the driveway and dove into the forest at the nearest point of entry. She ran as far into the woods as she could, using the moon and the light from the cabin windows to light her way. All too soon, the light ran out and she had to stop. Panting from exertion, she leaned back against a tree and pulled two pieces of roughly cut blanket from her 'tool belt.' Using thin strips cut from a sheet, she wrapped the cloth around her feet and secured it to her ankles. Not as good as hiking boots, but it would muffle her steps and protect her soles from further injury.

She stood up to get her bearings. The house was behind her, which was good, but she was facing up hill, which was bad. As for her captors, the Hound was _probably_ out of it for at least a few minutes (and she was almost shaking with disbelief that part one of her plan had worked) but the Mountain –

"C'mere little rabbit!" the fearsome giant called out on cue. The mocking cruelty of his voice sent shivers down her spine. "Don't make me chase ya'! Come back like a good girl and I'll go easy on ya."

Peeking around the tree, she could see him standing in the open cabin door - his frame so big it blocked most of the light. His left hand was clutching his head, probably a minor wound from her homemade mini-bomb. That thought sent a tiny curl of satisfaction twirling in her gut. His right arm dangled down by his side and in his hand was a wicked looking kitchen knife.

He didn't look particularly trustworthy.

Her mind screamed at her to move away and start heading downhill. To her right, the driveway ended and unbroken woods circled the cabin. It was the obvious direction in which to move, but he'd realize that too. To her left, the woods were divided by the single lane road leading up to the cabin. There was more chance of exposure, but if she could follow alongside the road leading down the mountain she'd find help sooner.

She went left.

Moving slowly, both to keep from making sound and because she couldn't see much, she crept through the forest. Suddenly, a blinding light hit her peripheral vision and her head instinctively turned towards it. Her pursuer had turned on the headlights of the car so they shone into the woods. She released the breath she'd held with a huff when she realized they pointed in the other direction.

"C'mon rabbit," the giant cupped his hands and shouted towards where she hadn't gone, "S'too fuckin' cold for this shit." When she didn't respond, his tone lowered and he growled, "If'n I gotta freeze my nuts off findin' ya, I'm gonna make ya warm them up. Best get yer ass back here now, little girl!"

She shuddered and moved on, even more determined to put as much distance between the two of them as possible. Judging herself to be far enough away from the circle of light surrounding the building, she started to move to the road.

Risa hovered at the edge of the woods and looked up. A cloud was just drifting across the moon which illuminated the open path ahead. Checking to make sure her captor still had his back to her, she waited for the light to disappear and bolted across the road. As soon as she was through to the other side, the lights from the headlights flipped off and the shouting stopped, giving her no clues as to his location. Had he seen her? Figured out that she had passed him? Either way, there was nothing she could do about it except keep one ear open for him and not stop.

Time dragged on. She didn't know how long her slow descent was taking – it could have been thirty minutes, or ten, or maybe even one. Moving in the dark had a cadence all its own – lift foot, place ball of the foot down slowly to make sure the ground is solid, shift weight to foot, repeat. At times, the moon would emerge from the clouds and then she moved could quicken her pace.

The woods at night was creepier than any place she'd ever been. After this, she might have to add a new trigger to her list of panic inducing situations. Dark, alone, cold, and in the middle of the type of landscape mankind had invented cities to get away from.

If she got out of this, she would never, ever, _ever_ go camping again.

She lifted her left foot and placed it down, only to find nothing under it. Pulling it back to keep from stumbling forward, she stumbled backward instead before steadying herself. Slowly, she got down on her knees, and felt along the ground with her hand until the feeling of dirt turned into rough stone. Stretching forward, her fingers grazed along an edge that curved sharply and headed downward. Carefully, she lowered herself still further until the rock pressed against her chest and reached down as far as she could - but her fingertips only brushed air.

Cursing under her breath, she debated what to do. She sat up and looked back – the lights of the cabin had completely disappeared from view. Keeping her breath slow and shallow, she listened – no sounds of pursuit. Just the rustle of the wind and the faint noises of birds which hadn't flown south.

She had to risk using light.

She pulled the flashlight she'd found in the supply cabinet from her waist. Cupping her fingers tightly over the lens, she shone the dim reddish light on the ground in front of her, keeping it close to the ground. It would still be visible if anyone were looking in her direction, but the woods were big and there were lots of trees and rocks to shield her. Peering through the darkness, she heaved a sigh of relief. Not a cliff – just the top of a large boulder she could work her way around.

Slipping around the rock, she continued the never-ending journey. However long she'd been in the woods, it was long enough for the edge of terror that had kept her going to fade. With the adrenaline rush over, her senses dulled and for the first time she started to feel the cold in the air and the fatigue tugging at her limbs. Her brain became so numb that, when the first tiny pinpricks of light pierced through the darkness ahead of her, she didn't realize what they were.

Risa stopped in the middle of her next step and blinked. Then blinked again. Then smiled as her heart beat furiously against her breast with excitement. Cars! There were cars up ahead! Two – no, three! And they were headed in her direction. She must be close to a road. With three vehicles, if she could make it down there before they passed, at least one of them would spot her.

Even without the moon to guide her, she took the risk of moving faster. It was a mistake - on her first step she tripped over a stray root and landed hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Desperation driving her, she scrambled back to her feet and pulled out the flashlight again. Training the beam towards the cars that were growing ever closer, she waved it back and forth and ran forward with all her strength – only to be jerked off her feet when an arm like an iron bar grabbed her waist from behind.

"Got ya," taunted the voice next to her ear.

With a dizzying speed, the Mountain spun her around and slammed her back into a tree. Her head knocked into it with enough force to jar her teeth and the flashlight dropped from her hand. The bulb shattered on impact, plunging them into darkness.

The large man pressed up against her, close enough for her to smell the curry on his breath. He ran his hand along her body – breasts, ribs, hips, thighs, and back up to grab her neck and force a foul-tasting kiss on her.

While he was distracted, Risa clutched at her tool belt with her right hand until she found what she was looking for. The second he drew his face back she swung her arm wide and swiped the paint scraper in her hand directly at his eye.

"Bitch!" He shouted, dropping his hands and jumping away from her. The perverse moon finally came back out and she could see him wiping his arm against a line of blood oozing from his cheek.

She'd missed.

Before she could move, he pressed back in. Grabbing her right wrist, he whacked it hard against the tree. Pain lanced through it and the paint scraper dropped from her lifeless fingers. The gasp she'd involuntarily let loose turned to a scream when a bright, ragged line of agony ripped through her abdomen. Looking down, she saw the moonlight glint off the knife he still held as he drove it into her side. All the way to the hilt.

Blood ran in a warm stream down her side and her legs struggled to keep her upright. He grabbed her by the upper arms and the world spun. When it righted again, she was on her back blinking up at the stars. And then they disappeared as the giant's cruel face loomed over her. Strong hands wrapped around her throat and he murmured crude things into her hair that she chose not to hear. He squeezed slowly against her throat, almost gently - leaving her just enough air to make her body think it wasn't being strangled. To taunt it by forcing her to gasp for air. She clutched at his fingers uselessly with her left hand, but she had as much chance of moving him as she did a mountain.

Oh gods, she was going to die after all. Kyoya would be so pissed!

The lack of oxygen began to play tricks on her mind. In her hallucinations, she saw alien lights beaming down from the sky and heard a welcoming party of bears crashing through the underbrush to greet them. Somewhere, someone beat one loud crack on a Taiko drum in celebration.

And then the world went black.


	29. The Realization

"Target secured. One hostile neutralized. Bravo team holding second in custody. We're continuing sweep of the area but no signs of anyone else." The commander of the Haninozuka team's voice crackled over the computer speakers, filling the silence of the war room. The mission was a success, but no one could cheer – to a man they were transfixed on the sound of the medics shouting in the background.

" _..bleeding heavily. Miura – gets some pressure on that wound!"_

" _Risa? Risa, can you hear me?"_

" _Pupils dilated, possible concussion. Hand me that neck brace."_

" _Where the hell's that stretcher!"_

The words swirled around Kyoya, wrapping around him like strangling vines. He'd never expected there could be something worse than the gray fog of 'waiting,' but the feeling of 'almost' – of having done everything you could, exerted every last ounce of effort, and to still find yourself on the verge of failing? That was the sensation of ice cold waters stealing the air from his lungs, stopping his heart, and closing over his head like a tomb.

They had been so close! While the Haninozuka Alpha Team's assault on the red push-pin location only resulted in scaring a middle aged manager and his mistress out of their bed, Bravo Team's descent on the blue push-pin was greeted by a wide open door and a man clutching his head with one hand and his family jewels with the other. From his near-incoherent babbling they discovered that Risa had escaped on her own and left one of her kidnappers with a concussion and, if there were any justice in the world, sterility.

Deciding that speed trumped stealth when the rescue operation turned into a search, Bravo Team had called in helicopters from the prefecture emergency services department and summoned Alpha Team to assist. As they journeyed on the road to the cabin where Risa had been held, the Alpha Team Leader saw lights in an area where no one should be. He left half his convoy to investigate and, with the help of one of the helicopters, the team quickly found Risa – but not before the bastard that was with her had done some damage.

So. Damn. Close.

Kyoya forced his thoughts away from dwelling on events he couldn't change, martialed all his will and forced himself to come back to the present. Risa still needed him, he couldn't fall apart now. Besides, regardless of the circumstances, an Ootori did. Not. Break.

"…unresponsive. Working to stabilize her condition," the commander was stating, finishing his report. "No time to wait for an ambulance, we'll transport to the Ootori Hospital in Kofu using the van."

" _Starting IV drip now – Miura, keep up that pressure on the wound."_

"The police are on their way, Commander, and will provide an escort," Honey chirped back, "They'll need to talk to you about the shooting too."

" _Alright, men, on three. Let's get her off this hill. One… Two…"_

"Understood. Bodycams will show it was justified, sir." Somehow the Commander's voice managed to convey his opinion that death had been too good for the man. "Bravo Team wants to know what to do with their prisoner."

"Oh, I think he can wait for the ambulance. Don't you?" Honey's sunny voice was shot through with shadows that caused shivers to run down the spine of everyone in the room.

"Yes, sir," The Commander drawled, "We'll make sure he has a nice, scenic ride."

Honey released the man to his tasks and turned to the person standing silently next to him. "Kyo-chan," he said laying his hand on top of his friend's crossed arms, "Our on-site medic is really, _really_ good."

Kyoya nodded, but there was no conviction to it.

" _Kaicho_ ," called out the guard at the monitor just to Kyoya's left, "The van has reached a destination but we still have three more potential targets in flight. What do you want us to do?"

Kyoya turned, his mouth gaping open. What the hell was this idiot going on about? The van? It took a second for him to even remember the pursuit of the thieves. Weariness bore down on him – didn't anyone realize just how fucking unimportant all of that was now?

Before he could open his mouth and say so, Tamaki stepped in front of him and shoveda headset into his chest. "I have the chopper on the roof, they'll take you and Honey straight to the hospital."

Kyoya paused just long enough to shoot a look of gratitude at the idiot who understood him better than anyone else. He strode over to the Ootori patriarch, still glowering from the chair he'd been consigned to. "Father, I'm sure you can handle things from here. " Kyoya tossed the burner phone Ryan had given him at the older man, who caught it deftly.

Without another word, he and Honey bolted from the room.

* * *

The hospital director, an overweight man in his sixties who had to clamp one hand on his head to prevent his toupee from blowing away, met them at the landing pad. Kyoya couldn't decide if that was a good or bad sign. If Risa was doing well, the director would want to take credit. If she wasn't, the man would be there to prevent the ire of an Ootori from falling directly onto his staff.

"Ootori-sama," the man shouted over the noise of the copter as the two occupants debarked, "Your wife arrived fifteen minutes ago." Bending down to keep low, the three men walked swiftly towards the roof-top entrance. "She has a broken wrist, possible concussion, and is showing signs of stage one hypovolemic shock and mild hypothermia. Our main concern is the puncture wound in her left side. She's in the OR now with my top trauma surgeon."

"Take me to her," Kyoya ordered as they reached the stairwell. The door into the hospital swung shut behind him with a slam, adding an emphasis to his statement.

The director stopped in his tracks and blinked. "I'm sorry, but that's not possible," he blurted out.

"I assure you, Director," Kyoya said, clipping his words, "I am no stranger to an operating room."

To his credit, the Director didn't back down under the younger man's glare. "I mean, Sir, that it wouldn't be advisable." He took a deep breath as if to muster his nerve. "The minute your wife came through the doors, she became my patient and it's my responsibility to make sure she gets the best possible outcome. Right now, that means not having my best staff distracted from doing their jobs by their employer looking over their shoulder."

Kyoya's mind acknowledged the sense of the words, but it did nothing to ease the tension running through every fiber of his body. Standing at the top of the stairs, he could feel himself physically wavering back and forth as the need to keep _doing_ something thrummed through him.

"Ootori-sama," the Director continued in the calming voice one might use on a dangerous beast, "We aren't as big or prestigious as the branches in Tokyo. But what we _are_ is a hospital specializing in the needs of the agricultural and timber industries and mountain tourism. We are experts in treating exactly the type of trauma your wife has received. I have my best people in there with her – please just let us do our job."

Kyoya's mouth opened to agree, but he couldn't speak the words. He felt a hand reach up around his back to grip his shoulder. "C'mon, Kyo-chan," Honey said softly, breaking the impasse, "Let's go to the waiting room, 'kay?"

His head nodded, but Kyoya's mind rejected the very thought of _waiting._ Thankfully, at an Ootori Hospital there would be plenty to do to keep him occupied. Without further objection, he allowed his Sempai to lead him inside.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the elevator doors wooshed open onto a busy hallway. Men in tactical gear wandered around drinking tea, staff in hospital uniforms assembled around the nurse's station looking conspicuously busy, and clusters of grave-looking men in bespoke suits blocked the corridors. At the center of it all was a tall, black-haired man with an excruciatingly polite smile on his face that never touched his eyes.

Stepping off the elevator arm and arm, Tamaki and Haruhi took one look at their friend and then looked at each other. "That's not good, is it?" Haruhi stated, chewing worriedly on her bottom lip.

"No, it's not." Tamaki returned his gaze to his best friend, noting the almost imperceptible twitching of Kyoya's cheek as he talked to the oily-looking man giving off the scent of a politician. "When he gets that vapid look on his face, he's about a second from doing something terrible to someone." He reached up and squeezed the hand his wife had tucked into the crook of his elbow. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "I doubt it. Whatever you're thinking probably involves elephants, magicians, and a full three-ring circus."

"Of course, it doesn't!" Tamaki protested. His face fell and he muttered, "Its monkeys, not elephants."

"Tamaki, no!"

The Host King made a whining noise in the back of his throat. "Awww… you never let me have any fun. Fine, we'll do it the boring way." Leaning down, he murmured his plan in Haruhi's ear.

When he was done, she nodded in agreement. "Ok. You go get ready, I'll take care of my part."

Tamaki dropped a quick kiss on her cheek. "Alright – operation: Save Kyoya from Himself is a go!" He gave his wife a small smile and conspiratorial nod, then turned and loped off down a side hallway.

Squaring her shoulders, Haruhi sailed through the milling horde with the absolute confidence that they would part before her that only a woman six-months pregnant could have. Stepping up behind Kyoya, she contrived to stumble against his side. "Oof!"

Kyoya felt the impact and instinctively turned to catch the woman falling towards him. "Haruhi? When did you get here?" He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders for stability. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I think so. Thanks for the save." She righted herself, clutching hard against his forearm. "We just arrived - I guess the ride here was more tiring than I thought." She put her right hand in the center of her back and rubbed at it. "Do you think you could show me to someplace I can sit down away from all these people?"

"Of course." A part of him breathed a sigh of relief at the excuse to stop talking with the self-important blowhard who'd been monopolizing his time for the last fifteen minutes. "Mr. Mayor, if you will excuse me?"

The mayor couldn't refuse under the circumstances and made some noises about setting up a meeting at a better time to continue discussing the charitable donation for community improvements he wanted. Kyoya turned aside the offer without a comital.

He started to guide Haruhi down the hallway, but she stopped and pulled on his arm. "Umm… Tamaki went to get me something to drink back down that corridor." She pointed down one of the junctions branching off from the elevators. "Is there a place I can wait down there?"

It was a bit out of the way, but it suited his desire to step away from all the people clamoring for his attention so he didn't argue the point. "I believe so." Turning, he began walking in the direction she indicated. "If not, I'll make them find one. It's one of the few advantages of being part of the family that owns the place."

Halfway down the side hallway, his only warning that something was amiss was a flicker of motion in the corner of his eye. Suddenly, the door they were passing flew open and an arm reached out to grab him. Simultaneously, the duplicitous brunette at his side hip-checked him and Kyoya soon found himself jerked inside the emergency stairwell, whirled around, and his back slammed up against the wall.

He tried to move, but a pair of strong hands were pinning his shoulders back trapping him. His eyes blinked in disorientation once. Twice. And then came to focus on the blonde moron standing in front of him. "Tamaki, what the hell are you doing? I don't have time…"

"Kyo!" Tamaki ordered, "Just… stop!"

The authoritative tone in his best friend's voice startled Kyoya into shutting his mouth.

Sensing that Kyoya wasn't fighting him anymore, Tamaki relaxed his grip slightly. "You've done your best, _mon ami,_ but now it's time to stop. To let it go. There's nothing more you can do. You don't have to play the part of the third Ootori son, or the company chairman, or even the general leading the army to the rescue. You can just let yourself be what you are – a husband worried about his wife."

Kyoya shook his head back and forth slowly in denial, but his Tamaki's words were piercing through all the layers he'd put in place to insulate himself from the dark cloud of fear which had been pressing in on him since the minute Risa had vanished. Raising his left arm, he laced it over Tamaki's to clutch at his friend's shoulder. Whether it was to push him away or pull him closer wasn't something he could say for certain.

Tamaki squeezed Kyoya's shoulder in response and dropped his other hand away. "Things are out of your control now and I know just how much that must terrify you. Not even you can keep carrying that burden alone."

His friend's concern bore down on Kyoya, winding the spring of tension that had powered him all evening tighter. And tighter.

" _Mon frère,"_ Tamaki pleaded, his eyes filled with empathy, "You've always been there, supporting me. Supporting all of us. Please, just this once let me help. Let yourself lean on me for a change."

The spring wound tighter. And tighter. Until the weight pressing down on Kyoya became unbearable and, with no more warning than that, it snapped.

The fall began almost imperceptibly. First the ankles trembled, then the knees lost the ability to bear weight, the torso slowly fell forward from the hips, and Kyoya's forehead landed squarely on Tamaki's shoulder.

And, for the first time in his life Ootori Kyoya couldn't do anything but sob.

* * *

Kyoya straightened his back and put his glasses back on when the stairwell door opened. Seeing it was just Tamaki, he took them back off and relaxed back into his seat on the steps.

"Here, you look like you could use this." Tamaki held out a can of something cold in front of Kyoya's face.

Kyoya grabbed it and pressed it against his aching eyes, hoping it would reduce the swelling. "I really hate you right now," he grumbled.

"No, you don't," Tamaki replied confidently and plopped down next to him, popping the lid on his own drink and gulping it down with a contented sigh. "Secretly, you want to thank me. I don't care what people say behind your back, you aren't inhuman. No man could bear the amount of pressure you've been under tonight without cracking. I figured, as your best friend, that doing it herewas preferable to letting you have a truly spectacular meltdown in public."

Kyoya shrugged one shoulder indifferently and grunted a begrudging acknowledgement. He'd never admit it, being able to let go of his control had… helped. Even though none of his worry had diminished, a part of him felt the burden had eased just a little. Opening the can of juice, he drained it. The cold soothed the rawness in the back of his throat, but he couldn't help wrinkling his nose in disgust at the cloying peach flavor.

The two men settled into silence for almost a full minute before Tamaki was unable to resist filling it. "It's a bit of a shock, isn't it? Realizing that you love someone, I mean."

Kyoya opened his mouth on an instinctive protest, but stopped himself. There was no point in lying about it anymore – not even to himself. "Yes, it is."

Tamaki's face lit up with a 'told-you-so' grin, but for once he had the good sense not to gloat.

Staring into his empty can, Kyoya swirled it around a little with his hand as if to shake loose a few drops from the side. "It definitely wasn't anything I ever planned on," he mused, "I'm rather surprised to find I have it in my nature at all."

"I'm not." Tamaki laughed at Kyoya's look of surprise. "No, really! You are the most possessive person I've ever met. Once you decide someone is important to you, you act as if their happiness is your own. If that's not a capacity to love, I don't know what is. You've always underestimated yourself."

"Perhaps you're right," Kyoya said on a weary sigh. He lifted the empty can to his lips as if trying to shake the last few drops left. "Not sure what good it does me to know that now." He fell silent, staring at the floor as if it were a far distance. "What am I going to do, Tamaki? What do I do if…"

Tamaki lifted his hand to Kyoya's shoulder. "I don't know. I can't even imagine. The only thing I know is that, if things were reversed, you would be there for me until I got through it. No matter how long it takes. Just like I'll be there for you."

The only acknowledgement Kyoya could give was to briefly place his hand over his friend's before dropping it back to his lap.

"I also know that thinking that way doesn't help anything," Tamaki said with forced cheerfulness, "She's in the best hospital getting the best care and that is all because you didn't give up. All because you used everything in your power to find her. Whatever fate has in store, don't forget that."

With a parting squeeze, Tamaki dropped his hand from Kyoya's shoulder and tossed back the rest of his drink. "But I, for one, refuse to believe in worst case scenarios. This story is _clearly_ a romance. Haruhi and I are the main characters – but you and Risa are the B-couple so everything is going to work out!"

"You're such an idiot!" Kyoya muttered with just a hint of a chuckle.

Tamaki nudged him with his shoulder. "Hey, just be grateful you've been promoted from homosexual supporting cast."

Whatever Kyoya would have said next was interrupted by the sound of the door slowly opening. Haruhi stepped through, an inscrutable expression on her face. "Kyoya, Risa's out of surgery. The doctor's won't tell me anything – they want to speak to you."


	30. The Vigil

Kyoya stared intently at Risa's pale form, as if his will alone could force her to wake up. She looked so small, so frail lying in the hospital bed amidst all the machines helping her breathe, pumping in antibiotics and painkillers, and monitoring her status. As the hours passed, he'd come to despise the bandages that covered her head and arms, the cast on her hand – all proof of the ordeal she'd been through. The one he had been unable to prevent and which he was powerless to _make_ her recover from.

Over and over, the words the Chief Surgeon had said to him kept running through his head on an endless loop. _"The knife missed most major organs but resulted in minor lacerations to the kidney and large intestine. We've repaired the damage and stopped the bleeding, but there is a high risk of infection due to the location of the wound, dirt from the kitchen knife, and the delay in getting her to the hospital. If she wakes up in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours and doesn't develop a fever, we'll consider it a good sign that the surgery was a success."_

Trusting in fate went against every fiber of his being. Always, _always_ until now he could find a way in – even in the most hopeless of situations. There had always been something he could leverage that left him in the driver's seat. But how could you fight an injury? How could you control a body's healing process?

Right when everyone was encouraging him to have hope, he had never felt so helpless.

For the hundredth time, Kyoya reached out to grasp Risa's uninjured hand but drew back at the last minute. As much as he longed for that simple connection, she just seemed so… fragile. As irrational as it was, part of him feared that she would break if he so much as touched her. Settling back into the visitor's chair by her bedside, Kyoya closed his eyes and tried to find some measure of calm.

In the pre-dawn hours, the hospital would have been quiet even without the improved sound-proofing the VIP room afforded. The steady 'blip, blip, blip' of the heart rate monitor and soft in-and-exhaling of the oxygen mask reverberated in the silence, as did the soft clicking of Mori's prayer beads forming a counterpoint.

They wouldn't leave him alone.

Someone, and he had a pretty good idea of just which blonde idiot to place the blame for this on, had decided that he shouldn't be left on his own. While he kept vigil over his wife, the Host Club kept watch over him. He could have told them it was unnecessary – that one breakdown in composure every twenty-nine years was the most any Ootori would allow themselves – but he found their concern strangely… comforting.

And maybe, just _maybe_ , it was all that kept him from falling into the abyss of despair yawning at his feet. But he wasn't going to tell them that.

Because they already knew.

Haruhi had wanted to take first watch but, since it was already after midnight, both he and Tamaki had convinced her to go rest at the hotel. She'd reluctantly agreed for the sake of the baby, but not before enfolding Kyoya in one of her rare hugs and whispering, "I'll take him with me and get him off your hands." He'd given her a gentle squeeze of appreciation in return.

Before he left, the Host King did what he did best – manage people. In less than five minutes he'd shooed away the local dignitaries, praised and shuffled off the staff, and thanked then dismissed the rescue team. All while making every one of them feel valued and appreciated.

With both Haruhi and Tamaki gone, first watch went to the club's sweetest member.

Honey had walked into Risa's hospital room devoid of his usually chipper expression and carrying an object in each hand. "Rei-chan's going to come down tomorrow but she sent these." He held the objects up for Kyoya's inspection.

Moving to the head of the bed, he placed the objects on the nightstand next to her. "Usa-chan's to make her feel better and the Beelzenef doll has a curse against…" He faltered and screwed up his face in confusion. "Actually, I don't really know what Rei-chan thinks she's cursing. Bacteria, maybe?" He laid a hand on Kyoya's arms and turned chocolate-brown eyes wide with reassurance on his junior. "But, Kyo-chan - her spells usually work."

With that, he pulled up a second visitor's chair next to Kyoya's and settled into it. Over the next three hours, the normally bubbly blonde proved a surprisingly restful companion. He seemed to grasp intuitively that simply being there, offering silent support, was what Kyoya needed more than platitudes or empty guarantees. When Mori arrived to relieve him, Honey wrapped his arms around Kyoya's neck from behind in a fierce hug. "Risa-chan's the determined type. She won't give up, so don't give up on her, 'kay?"

Mori gently detached his cousin from Kyoya then patted his junior on the shoulder. "She'll keep fighting."

"I know," Kyoya replied, not taking his eyes of her.

When Honey left, Mori moved to a corner of the room and dropped into _seiza_. He spent the rest of his time as watchman meditating. The only sound he made came from the gentle clicking of his prayer beads. Kyoya wasn't a religious man. His observances were generally limited to expected cultural practices. He certainly had nowhere near the devotion of his stoic sempai. Still, he found the sound lulled him into a sense of peace he'd thought unobtainable under the circumstances. Perhaps that was the point.

Prayers and curse dolls – it would irritate the hell out of Risa, devout little atheist that she was, to have someone claim her recovery might be due in part to them. The thought of watching her try to thank Reiko and Mori while choking back all the derisive things she couldn't say was almost enough to tear a chuckle out of him.

But then the gloom set back in. She could only be upset if she woke up.

A little after dawn the door opened and a brunette head poked around it. The click-click-click stopped abruptly with the newcomer's arrival. Mori seamlessly rose to his feet and left the room as wordlessly as he'd spent his time in it, pausing only for another pat on Kyoya's shoulder.

"You look like hell," Haruhi said, plopping down into the second visitor's chair.

"Good morning to you too." Around this woman he could relax his guard enough to betray his weariness by rubbing his hands over his face. "Where's your lesser half?"

"He's outside running crowd control already." She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Some people just don't have any decency. Did you get any sleep at all?"

He shrugged. "You know I'm no stranger to late nights."

Her glare was as scathing as his reply deserved. "You really should get some sleep. If you don't want to leave, I can have them bring in a bed. Or I think those fancy chairs over there recline and I'm sure they have some blankets." She laid her hand over his and said softly, "You have to take care of yourself, too."

He turned his hand palm up and gripped hers. "I know, but… I just can't sleep. Not yet." He couldn't rest while things were uncertain. Couldn't take the risk that if he relaxed his vigilance for one second, something would happen and Risa would…

He refused to complete that sentence, even in his head.

Haurhi studied him intently, as if trying to see his thoughts. After a long minute, she nodded and said, "Okay. I understand," and settled back in the chair still holding his hand. She was as restful a guard as his two seniors had been. After a couple of hours, though, she started fidgeting in her chair. "I'm… going to go get something to drink. Do you want anything?"

Kyoya almost smiled at her attempt to hide that her pregnant bladder was demanding attention. "I'm fine, thank you." He couldn't eat or drink any more than he could sleep.

Haruhi stood up. "Just so you know, if you don't eat something by lunch time I'm going to sic Tamaki on you."

This time, one corner of his mouth did quirk up. "Duly noted."

As soon as she left, he could feel the lack of sleep start to press in as he stared at Risa, watching closely for any signs of a change. Unconsciously, his breath began to mirror hers, his thoughts slipped away, and he settled into a state where time no longer existed. There was only waiting.

* _Bang*_

Kyoya jerked out of his semi-stupor with a start at the slam of the door.

"You're a bastard, Ootori," growled Ryan from behind him, "You didn't leave me anyone to hit."

Kyoya could sympathize. "We have one of the kidnappers in our custody. I'd be happy to arrange for an unrecorded visit."

The American stalked over to Risa's bedside, removing his trademark cowboy hat and placing it next to the curse doll. Gingerly, he took her left hand in his and gently brushed the hair back from her face with his right. "Nah, I don't want the small fry. I want to destroy one of the men that planned this." He stared at her for a full minute, pain etched in every line of his face. For the first time, Kyoya almost felt a kinship with the Texan. Dropping her hand, Ryan turned to the man sitting by her side. "But that bastard Andropov's disappeared. Know anything 'bout that?"

Kyoya pushed his glasses up, tilting them so the light would hide his eyes. "Would you want me to tell you if I did?"

Ryan crossed his arms and scrutinized his opponent, but Kyoya knew his poker face would give little away. Still, the man eventually nodded as if he'd seen something that satisfied him. "Nope. 'Long as I know it's handled."

Truth was, Kyoya knew little more about Andropov's fate than Ryan did. He only knew that he now owed Kasanoda one very large favor.

"I'm sure you'll be disappointed to know I can't stay long." Ryan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, betraying his own exhaustion. "My superiors all got their knickers in a twist over some shake-up in Moscow. Turns out at least half the FSB big-wigs have been caught sellin' intel to other countries. Major scandal. Resignations and arrests all over the place - even a couple 'disappearances.' And it won't end with the top, they're thinkin' the rot goes all the way down to the field. All the other Russian agencies are bellyin' up to the table to feast on the bones."

"Is that so?" Kyoya allowed the tiniest of smiles to appear.

Ryan's eyes lit up at that confirmation and he shook his head ruefully. "I ain't surprised you managed it. I just can't figure out how you did it so fast."

"Hypothetically speaking, there was plenty of time from when you first warned me until now to put contingency plans in place. After that, it would be a simple matter to activate one once I had a confirmed target."

"I was wrong, Ootori." Ryan looked at him with undisguised respect. "You aren't _just_ a pragmatic good guy, and you ain't no supervillain. You're Batman."

Kyoya's startled laugh surprised even him. "Hardly, Mr. Wagner. From what I understand, he protects a city while I only want to protect what's mine."

"Same thing, different scale." The Texan gave a slow smile that conveyed disbelief in Kyoya's protestations. "And it's Ryan."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

"It's no secret that I've had my doubts about you, but after this…" Turning back to Risa, he took her hand in his again. "Well, Rissy's been my honorary little sister since she was fourteen - which makes you my brother-in-law. If I gotta sit across from you at the table every Thanksgiving from here on out you can damn well start using my name."

"We're Japanese, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving."

"That's only 'cause you ain't never met Mary Wagner." Turning to look at Kyoya over his shoulder, Ryan's smile grew to a grin. "You're good, but you're only the _second_ -best manipulator I know."

Leaning down, Ryan whispered something in Risa's ear that Kyoya couldn't quite make out - only the words 'come back' and something that seemed to be about destroying the world. When the American stood back up, he looked down at her for a long time and, with one last squeeze, dropped her hand. "I've managed to keep the rest of the horde back in the states for now. Amy and the rest don't like it none, but I've convinced them you two need your space. The powers of hell itself couldn't keep my folks away - they're already on the plane and should get here tomorrow. Ma tends to hover some, but Daddy will keep her from annoying you. Much."

Ryan put his hat back on and moved to leave. "Well, I gotta go deal with a bunch a brass who'er birthin' kittens. Take care of our girl, Kyoya." Halfway to the door he stopped and then turned back around. "No. I mean - take care of _your_ girl."

"I will… Ryan,"

* * *

Mercifully, his friends mostly left him alone after that. Haruhi did come back and force him to choke down a sandwich that tasted of cardboard and wash it down with some juice, and every thirty minutes someone would tactfully come by to check on him, but other than that he was allowed his solitude. Allowed to be alone with his thoughts. And his fears.

When the next visitor arrived, he was almost grateful for the interruption.

Instead of approaching his daughter-in-law's bedside, Ootori Yoshio went straight to the in-room computer and pulled up her chart. "The surgeon's report looks good and she's made it through the night without developing any signs of infection. Vital signs are strong. Overall, I would say her prognosis looks good."

"Thank you, Father." Kyoya recognized that this was the best his father could do at an attempt to comfort him.

Yoshio came to stand at the foot of Risa's bed, next to his son. "After you left so precipitously, I successfully recovered the data you gave away." Not even Risa's condition could lessen the acerbicness of his voice. "I'll admit, the drone was a nice trick. They switched cars in one of the tunnels, but it was one of the ones we had tracked. As soon as we had visual confirmation, I had the Black Onion Squad storm the building."

"And the thieves?"

"We have the two from the office in custody along with the drivers of both vehicles involved."

Even exhausted, Kyoya easily spotted the attempt at misdirection. "They're flunkies," he snapped, lacking any patience for his father's obfuscation. "I want to know about the ringleaders."

The elder Ootori's eyes narrowed at his son's tone of voice, but instead of delivering a sharp reprimand he paused before answering. "Andropov must have caught wind of what we were up to – probably has a source in the embassy. When we arrived, he'd already cleaned house. Kei and Wada are dead. Executed by a bullet to the head."

Kyoya cursed under his breath. He'd promised Shigeru that he wouldn't kill Kei, but he'd still wanted both Risa's cousin and Wada to suffer at his hands. "I suppose I should inform his father."

"I'll take care of it. I've also arranged to have Andropov declared 'persona-non-grata' by our government, although he seems to have disappeared. A Russian contact of mine says his superiors are unconcerned. They believe his vanishing is connected to an FSB scandal breaking in Moscow." Yoshio turned his eagle eye on his son but Kyoya merely pushed his glasses up so they hid his eyes and kept his face immobile.

Realizing that he wouldn't get any more information, Yoshio moved on. "The press are sniffing around, the Suoh boy is dealing with them. He's good at distracting them – just like his father. The story we're spinning is that this was a standard kidnapping for money. The men we captured have agreed to silence in exchange for reduced prison time."

It riled Kyoya to his core that he knew this was the best course of action. He wanted the men who had stolen from him to be crushed. Not killed – killing was too easy. He wanted to destroy them as thoroughly as they'd tried to destroy him. Well, he could bear this compromise. For now. But there was one thing he wouldn't tolerate. "Not the man from the cabin," Kyoya said sharply, holding his ground when his father drew himself up at the challenge to his authority. "He doesn't get any deal until I know what he did to her."

The two men locked glares and, in the end, it was Yoshio who folded. "Very well. We haven't handed him over to the police yet, I'll leave his fate up to you."

Seeming to have said all he meant to, the Ootori patriarch fell silent but made no move to leave. Kyoya watched him out of the corner of his eye. Even though Yoshio's face was as expressionless as usual, it appeared as if he was struggling within himself. With an inward shrug, Kyoya turned back to looking for any signs of improvement in his wife. Whatever his father was up to, whatever game was being played, the old man would get around to it in his own time.

When it finally came, it was the last think Kyoya expected.

Moving up to the head of the bed, Yoshio looked down at his daughter-in-law and sighed. "I know I fought you over this marriage, forced you to convince me of its merit. But the truth is - I wanted it from the start."

Kyoya could only stare at his father in disbelief as history was rearranged with a few sentences.

Yoshio kept talking as if he hadn't noticed. "Her grandfather came to me when he got sick, when he realized marriage to a stronger family would be her best option. He told me all about her research and, of course, I immediately recognized its potential. Saw the benefit of an alliance. By then you'd gotten so adept at wriggling out of any match I proposed that I knew a direct approach would fail. That, no matter how strong the lure, the only way you would ever go through with it is if I seemed opposed."

Resentment flared in Kyoya's breast. In retrospect, he could see that his father had given in too easily. At the time, he'd been too blinded by excitement to be skeptical. That things had worked out didn't diminish his anger at realizing he'd been played one iota.

What he felt must have shone on his face.

"Hate me if you must, but I did it as much for your benefit as for the family." The faintest suggestion of warmth shone in Yoshio's eyes. "Of all my sons, you are the one who is most like me. I know how much you want to succeed me, to overtake Yuuichi, but I'm not sure you've ever realized just how… constricting the role of chairman is."

The elder Ootori's face twisted into a bitter scowl. "When you inherit a group like this, it's made clear from the start that your primary function is to preserve the legacy intact for the next generation. Everyone – the board, your relatives, your subordinates – obsessively reviews your every idea. Picks them apart looking for anything deemed 'too risky.' There's never the chance to really _build_ something. Never a chance to soar.

"Having no brothers, I was groomed as the heir since birth. But before you take the job, I wanted you to have a chance to really see what you can do on your own. To see what you could accomplish without the weight of a legacy weighing you down." Yoshio captured Kyoya's gaze with his own. "I wanted you to have the chance I never got."

Kyoya wasn't sure what surprised him more, his father's tacit admission that he would be the eventual successor or that the old man actually seemed to be sincere.

With a shrug, Yoshio turned and faced away from his son – once more putting a distance between them that made both of them more comfortable. "In some ways, Yuuichi is perfect for the job – smart, but unimaginative. He'd grow the company slow and steady. Would never take a gamble on anything. The Board of Directors likes that. Its going to take something remarkable to make them abandon the conservative path. Something so big they can't dismiss it. I couldn't do anything about your age or order of birth, so this..." He inclined his head in Risa's direction. "Her research was my gift to you. Whatever happens, if you continue in the direction you're going, I know you'll be able to accomplish your ambitions."

It was something Kyoya had waited a lifetime to hear. And yet... the callousness of it scraped against his soul like sandpaper. All his father could see was a balance sheet, the merit Risa's work brought to him. To the family.

He had no conception of her worth at all.

And like that, the words of validation that Kyoya'd always longed for were overshadowed by a sudden realization. "I don't want it," he muttered softly.

Yoshio's granite face nearly split with shock. "You can't mean that."

"Surprisingly enough, I do," Kyoya replied, not quite believing what he was saying either. "For fourteen years being declared your heir was my only goal but… it's no longer _enough_. What's the point of reaching the pinnacle if you lose everything of value along the way." It suddenly didn't matter anymore if his father was telling the truth about the _Omiai_ or rewriting events for his own purposes. He _had_ been given a gift – but it wasn't the company or the research. For the first time since his long night began, he felt a sense of purpose. He knew what he planned to do. "Tell Yuuichi he's welcome to the position. If Risa wakes up, I'll just take it from him anyway. Or surpass him. And if she doesn't…" Kyoya swallowed hard to force back the emotion choking him. "Then I won't let what she built become just another 'asset' for the family to exploit. Sakura Pharmaceuticals won't just wither on the vine, I'll kill it off myself."

"You're… you're tired and overworked," Yoshio stammered, "You aren't acting yourself - I'll do you the favor of forgetting what you said."

"As you wish." Turning his back on his father, Kyoya faced his wife. "I'd like to be alone now, Father, if you don't mind."

The next sound Kyoya heard was the door closing.

Kyoya reached out and finally grasped Risa's hand in his. He leaned forward, gray eyes burning with intensity. "Did you hear that Risa? If you don't wake up I'll destroy it all. The company, your research – I'll burn it all to the ground. I'll take every study. Every sample. Every last note and throw it all on your funeral pyre. I'll let some other bright young thing come along and steal your glory. So, come on and stop me. Wake up! Prove to me just how much you want that Nobel Prize."

The words drowned out the sound of the machines and echoed off the walls. Gripping her hand tightly, he wondered if Tamaki was right. If sometimes the laws of narrative and dramatic convention would work even where curse dolls and prayers had not.

But that was foolish.

The sounds of the machines returned as his ringing declaration receded. It had been childish to expect her to respond immediately to his words. To open her eyes on cue. As she had all night, Risa remained unresponsive. Lifting her hand, he brought it up to his lips and kissed it with veneration. With a fierceness boarding on desperation, he whispered, "Please, come back to me, _liebchen_."


	31. The Dream

Risa was falling.

Darkness surrounded her and no wind caressed her skin or whistled past her ears but she _knew_ she was falling all the same. Just as she knew the blackness went on forever, without any sense of space or time to give it form.

Every so often she'd turn her head – left, right, up, down – but there was no light, no color to relieve it. After what could have been days, or only minutes, she finally spotted something. It started tiny, the barest pin-prick of light, and slowly grew bigger. And bigger. Until it was a faint pink dot glowing in the gloom. And then a figure. And then a…

A pink bunny?

"Late. Late. Late. I'm going to be late," he sang in a high-pitched tenor while studying an oversized pocket watch, "Late for tea and late for cake." At that, he stopped his singing and looked as crestfallen as a one-and-a-half meter tall Leporid could. "I _hate_ being late for cake."

An involuntary giggle slipped from Risa's lips – the sad little bunny was adorable.

His head snapped around and wide brown eyes looked straight at her. "Oh! Who are you?"

Risa started. She had been so fascinated, she hadn't realized the creature had drawn up next to her and his speed had slowed to match her own. That wasn't how gravity was supposed to work. But then, the creature shouldn't be visible when there was no source of light.

She was beginning to think this place, wherever it was, had rules of its own.

"I'm Ri…" She started to answer but cut herself off, not sure whether in this place she _hadn't_ already changed several times since she woke up this morning.

Looking down, she found that the same mysterious light which let her see the rabbit also illuminated the black combat boots, black and white striped stockings, indecently short blue dress with an impossible number of petticoats, and white pinafore which she wore. "Oh," she said recognizing the outfit, "I think I must be Alice."

"Hi Arisu-chan, I'm Usagi – but I think Usa's cuter so you can call me that. Do you hate being late for cake too?"

"Um… I suppose," she answered when it wouldn't stop staring at her, "Although I like candy bars better."

"Candy's great too!" The bunny clapped its hands in glee. "Let's go find some!"

Risa looked around the nothingness. "I… don't think there's any around here, Usa-san."

"Mmm, you're right. We need to go somewhere else." He clasped her hands with his paws and instantly, without the slightest jolt, she was standing on solid ground. "There, that's better." Releasing her hands, the rabbit dusted his paws off with the satisfaction of a job well done.

Yep, wherever she was, the laws of physics need not apply.

The gloom lightened until it was bright as day, revealing an English-style garden. Beds of improbably colored flowers bordered the large, emerald green lawn and, in the exact center, stood a round table loaded down with an over-sized teapot and every conceivable type of cake. Two figures had already taken their spots on either side of a third chair which sat empty.

"Hurry, Usagi-san," called out the gentleman in the seat to the right. Dressed in perfect Regency style from his blue waistcoat, to his skin-tight white pants, to his top hat and cravat, he was bathed in a ray of sunlight that hit him like a spotlight and shimmered off his blonde hair. "The clock can't strike tea time without you in place!"

"Oh no, I'm late! Late! Late! Late!" The bunny bounced over to the table and leapt up into the last chair. Risa wondered how he could possibly be late for something that didn't start until he got there.

The third figure at the table pulled at the ears poking out of her brown hair. "Damn it, Hatter! Why won't these come off? And why am I dressed as a dormouse?" Unlike the disturbingly realistic bunny, the mouse was a rather pretty woman wearing a costume.

"Because, _ma petite souris,_ you look so cute that way!" cried Hatter, flying out of his chair to glomph the irritated mouse, "And this is the only way I can get you to cosplay anymore."

"Hattie-chan," growled Usagi, the menace in his tone at odds with his fluffy appearance, "Tea time won't start 'til we all. Sit. Down."

Hatter blanched and scurried back to his seat. The minute he resumed his lazy, aristocratic sprawl a tinkling chime struck three times.

"Yay! Tea time!" shouted the unnaturally hued rabbit and, one-by-one, began inhaling the cakes whole. The Hatter eschewed the sweets and picked up his saucer with one hand and cup with the other, lifting the latter to his lips with one pinky extended. Meanwhile, the dormouse nibbled at a strawberry and absentmindedly tugged at her ears.

Risa smiled to herself. The characters Hikaru had created for his game bore less resemblance to their real-life counterparts when in 2D but she'd been around the Host Club long enough to know who he'd based each of them on. Seeing them in 3D, the likeness was unmistakable.

"I suppose this is where I'm supposed to say 'curiouser and curiouser,' isn't it?" she remarked idly.

"Would that make you happy, m'lady?" inquired Hatter, seeming to notice her for the first time. With a dramatic flourish, he stood and touched his left hand to his heart while extending a lavender rose towards her with his right. "Because we in the Wonderland Tea Time Society strive to make every woman…"

"I can't eat my CAKE if you don't SIT DOWN!"

Hatter sat.

"I'm pretty sure saying the marketing tag line isn't going to make her happy, Hatter." The dormouse rolled her eyes at the melodramatic blonde and picked up another strawberry.

The bunny briefly stopped scarfing down baked sweets. "Maybe Arisu-chan needs some cake to be happy!" His whiskers twitched with agitation. "But…but… then there'd be less for me!"

"What I need is to get out of here," Risa said realizing with a start that it was true. She needed to get back to _her_ world. There was so much waiting for her – her research, her company, her friends – but none of them were the reason she had to return. "There's someone I need to see. Someone important."

"Ah, well if that's the case. Then I know what just what you must do." The overdressed gentleman leaned forward, and rested his cheek on his hand in an elegantly contrived manner. "You need to go to the _palace_."

The dormouse and bunny stopped eating and stared at him in horror.

"You're sending her to see the King, Hattie-chan?"

"But, Hatter, you know how he's been ever since the Queen…"

"Nevertheless, if she wants to get out of here then that's where she has to go. Where we all need her to go." He pointed to a path winding off out of the garden and up a grassy hill. At the top of the hill, she could barely make out a stone arch with a figure next to it. "Head that way, Arisu-hime. The guard will tell you where to go next."

Hatter rose and glided over to Risa. This time the bunny didn't object - in fact, she thought she saw the faint shimmer of tears in the little creature's eyes. Lifting her hand, Hatter brought it up to his lips and fluttered a kiss across the back. "And good luck, m'lady. All our hopes ride with you."

"Uh... o-kay?" Risa extracted her hand from his grip. This Hatter was clearly as mad as his namesake. 'All their hopes' rode with her? That was just a tad bit over-the-top, wasn't it? Oh, well - at least she now knew the direction of the next cut scene.

Leaving the trio behind, who were back to their eating and good-natured bickering, she headed up the hill.

* * *

Risa's confidence rose with each step towards the gate. The tea party had been wildly off script - for one thing, Hatter was supposed to send her to see the _Queen –_ but during her fourth year she'd played 'Alice vs. the Zombies' for six months straight. Even with deviations, she should be able to beat every level.

The gigantically tall palace guard standing under the arch watched her approach with an inscrutable expression. This character was instantly recognizable, even in 2D the 'Newbie Guide' had been the spitting image of Mori. As soon as she reached the threshold, he drew his katana, angling it across his body to prevent her passing through. "What do you seek?" he demanded.

"The palace," she answered, grateful this scene was playing out as it was supposed to, "and the Qu... I mean the King."

Thankfully, Guard!Mori skipped over all the intro dialogue as if she'd been pressing the forward button and got straight to the part where he gave her the weapon. "Take this, you will need it to combat the rot infecting our land."

She took the sword from him, curling her hand around the hilt. With a step, the guard moved to one side so she could walk through the arch and into the next sequence. As she passed by, he stopped her with a hand upon her shoulder. Once he had her attention, he gave a gentle, encouraging smile. "Don't give up, Arisu-chan. The King is waiting but you will need to fight with all your strength if you want to reach him."

Huh? This was another aberration from what she remembered. Alice was _supposed_ to journey to the palace and kill the Queen of Hearts who'd used poisoned tarts to create a zombie army. There was never anything about a King.

The newbie guide seemed to expect a response so she gave a rather feeble nod. It seemed to satisfy him because his posture relaxed and he swept his arm out, directing her to walk through the gate.

Katana in hand, she went forth to kill something.

* * *

 _Gott in Himmel,_ it wouldn't stop!

Risa raised her sword to slice down the next oncoming attacker. This was the beginning of the game, there weren't supposed to be so _many_ of them! The town was the right one – wide town square, bubbling fountain, pastiche of medieval architecture and all – but instead of five easy to fight undead she'd stumbled straight into an entire _horde_ of them.

No matter how many she cut down, they just kept coming. And coming. She'd killed hundreds, maybe even thousands. Each body vanished the minute a killing blow was made so she couldn't keep count. Her arms were aching from the effort, her vision blurred from sweat, yet she never stopped spinning around beheading and stabbing and slicing.

She couldn't.

She just _knew_ she couldn't in the same way she'd known she was falling. Knew there would be no respawn if she failed.

One got inside her guard and she barely managed to push it back far enough to take off the top of its head. Overbalancing on her spin, she fell forward, slamming hard against the cobblestones. Greedy hands and hungry mouths reached for her, pulling at her clothes and trapping her sword arm against her body.

As hard as she struggled, she couldn't shake them off. Couldn't rise to her feet.

"RRROOWWWRRRRRR!" With a growl that reverberated off the buildings, a huge orange and black creature soared over her head and landed in a crouch in front of her. The... cat? tiger? – it seemed to be a combination of both – grabbed the zombie closest to her in its jaws, shook it like a mouse, and tossed it against a building, smashing its head in the process. Stalking around her in a protective circle, it hissed and spat at her attackers then one mighty paw lashed out, tearing through them with a single swipe.

Risa rose to her feet, watching in awe as the creature wrought a path of destruction until nothing remained. When it was done, it sat back on its haunches, lifted a blood-stained paw to its mouth, and began grooming itself.

"Ummm… thanks." Risa said, "Don't suppose you could have done that sooner?"

"Mrrow," it replied in a way that suggested that it _could_ have but hadn't felt like it.

Typical cat.

Risa wiped the blood off her sword and examined the creature, trying to put it into some type of context. The feline was definitely NOT part of the game. Not even as an Easter Egg. But then, neither had been this battle. Whatever was going on, it was totally non-canon. Maybe even AU.

"Forget it Arisu," she muttered to herself, "It's Wonderland." She needed to start treading carefully, this journey wasn't the one she knew. She couldn't count on anything being as expected.

Looking behind her, she found to her complete lack of surprise that the arch had vanished. The buildings surrounding the town square were fitted up against each other so tightly that no gaps existed. Except one- directly across the square from her was a single alleyway.

The one thing this world had been consistent about was what it wanted her to do. There was only one direction in which to go – to the palace. And the King.

* * *

One step outside the town square and the landscaped morphed yet again – this time into the formal palace garden from the final sequence. The stones under her feet transformed from cobblestones into pavers forming a hexagonal patio lined with Italian pine trees on seven sides and the entrance to a hedge maze on the eighth. From behind one of the rows of trees on her right, she heard the sound of running footsteps heading straight towards her. Spinning on one foot, she raised her sword and nearly decapitated the Jack of Hearts.

"Easy there, darlin'," he drawled in a familiar accent. The Jack grinned disarmingly and held up his hands, "Don't wanna guillotine your favorite honorary brother, now would 'ya?"

Risa lowered her sword and wrinkled her brow. Yet another anomaly - this Jack was not at all the same as his game avatar. The costume, a red-and-black duster coat with stylized hearts engraved into the leather and waaaaay too many buckles, was identical to that worn by Hikaru's creation. The black cowboy hat, blonde hair, and Texan accent were not.

"C'mere, you..." The Jack (or Ryan?) grabbed her upper arms and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly to his chest. "Can't believe I was able ta' find ya.'"

When he stepped away, his hands lingered on her shoulders. "Now hurry, we need to get you to the palace." Wrapping one giant hand around her left wrist, he pulled her into the maze.

A zombie immediately jumped through the hedge behind her and she stabbed it through the eye.

"Since the Queen vanished, the King's gone a little mad," said Jack. They took the first right and ran into their second undead. The Jack pulled a revolver out of hammer space and shot it through the head.

Risa sighed – definitely not part of the game. Somehow, she didn't think she was in Hikaru's Wonderland anymore. Maybe she hadn't been from the start.

"It's all very quiet and controlled-like," Jack continued, kicking the next zombie in the chest and stepping aside so she could decapitate it. "Not sure most folks have noticed yet. But, if nothing changes, I'm not sure _what_ he'll do."

Left turn. Another left turn. Then right. Two decaying humanoids came at them at once, both were easily dispatched. Unlike the town, the maze didn't vary at all from the pattern of attacks she'd spent two months memorizing. In the pause before the next attacker, her companion glanced at her over his shoulder with an impudent grin. "Could be he'll destroy the whole damn world, lessen you stop it."

A few more turns, the fight with the mini-boss in the center of the maze, more turns, and several attackers later, they'd cleared the maze and emerged onto a wide terrace. Her destination loomed above them, more ostentatious and baroque than the Suohs' house. The architecture resembled some hideous off-spring of Buckingham Palace and Ouran Academy – big, imposing, finialed to hell and back, and pink.

As Risa stepped out of the maze, her hand cramped in pain and the sword tumbled from it to the ground. When it hit, it shattered into a shower of light and vanished. "No!" She reached for the ground as if she could claw the weapon back into existence.

"Won't need that pig-sticker anymore," said the Jack, "That diseased mob's done with you - won't bother you none from here on out. He took her arm and drew her up the steps of the palace, stopping before a pair of white doors a full story high and dripping with gold leaf. Taking off his hat, he gazed at her fondly. "Welp, my part in this's done. This is where I have to let you go."

"Wait!" Risa clutched at his arm. "Everyone's been telling me to go to the palace but nobody's told me what I'm supposed to do when I'm there!"

"You'll know when the time comes, darlin.' Now, don't you fret – you'll always be my favorite girl." Leaning down, he kissed her cheek. "Best get in there quick, though. You're the only one who can stop him." With a snap of his fingers, he vanished.

"I _hate_ this place," Risa grumbled.

The doors she was expected to go through looked very, very shut. Tentatively, she poked one with a single finger and jumped when they soundlessly swung open revealing the glass and chrome monstrosity that was the vestibule of her father-in-law's house.

Of course it was.

The minute she stepped inside, the doors slammed shut behind her. She didn't bother checking them, this world's internal rule book would dictate that they be locked.

What now? The entryway differed from the real one in one respect – all three of the walls other than the one behind her were covered in identical doors with no indication which one she should take. And once she found the right one, what then?

To get out of here, she needed to see the King. She needed to stop him from doing… whatever it was he was doing. And that involved returning the missing Queen, somehow. "But where do you find a Queen?" she asked the room.

"Stuuuuupid…" said a disembodied voice on her left.

"…You find a Queen…" said one on her right.

"In the palace!" they chorused together. Slowly, creepily, two identical smiles appeared hanging in the air to either side of her. Risa slowly backed away from them. Next came the faces and then the bodies until the Cheshire Cat Twins fully materialized.

"Wow," she snickered once they'd manifested, "I never realized just how much of a creator self-insert these characters were."

The two doppelgangers ignored her, twining and snaking around her in a complicated dance that made her dizzy.

"A woman is a queen…" said the one she thought was Hikaru's avatar.

"…Because she thinks she is," completed the one that had to be Karou.

Risa crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, "Pretty sure that's not technically accurate."

They stopped.

"Oi! My game, my rules."

"And just _what_ are you wearing? I mean, stuck-up socialite was bad enough but trust me, steampunk psychopath isn't _not_ a good look on you."

It was only then she realized just how much blood was spattered over the LoliGoth dress. "Don't have anything else to wear," she shrugged.

The Cats exchanged diabolical grins. "We can change that!"

They started coiling about her again, looping and wrapping fabric of all shades and textures around her as they went. When they were done she was wearing a neon-red ballgown. It had a heart-shaped neckline, a bodice that hugged her body, and a bell skirt that reached the floor and fluttered with thousands of tiny silk hearts.

"I look like one of those creepy doll cakes," she said flatly.

"Bit too Quincenera, little bro." Cheshire Cat A shook his head sadly.

Cheshire Cat B glared at his brother indignantly. "Whatever. First drafts always suck."

The fabric tornado commenced again. "Too boring."

Then again. "Too imitative."

And again. "Too slutty."

And _again_ until she was about to reach out, slam their heads together, and demand they just give her some jeans and a t-shirt.

"Perfect!" They chorused.

There was a screech as a full-length mirror wheeled itself up from out of nowhere. The cats pulled off the cloth covering it so she could see their work.

She stared at her reflection in a cross between amazement and repugnance. It was red (in parts). And there were hearts (in strategic locations). But… "Wait - you rejected the _last_ one for being too slutty? I look like I should be painted on the nose of a plane."

"Pin-up is a classic style." Kao!Cat waived away her objection. "Bet the King'll love it – he strikes me as a closet pervert."

"I thought this game was supposed to be rated T," she groused, trying to pull up the bodice with one hand and pull the skirt down in the back with the other.

"M sells better." Hika!Cat swept her hair back behind her shoulders and turned her around to face one of the walls. He wrapped his arm around her waist and his twin mirrored the action on her other side, both pressing against her like bookends. They raised an arm each and pointed ahead to where one of the doors was glowing faintly, revealing the final chamber.

With a quick squeeze each, they stepped away and, as slowly as they'd appeared, began to fade from view.

"Time for the Queen…"

"…to find her King,"

Their grins hung around in the air a full minute before dissolving.

Looking at the door, she squared her shoulders in determination. And then had to pause a minute to wiggle up the neckline of her so-called dress before she was covered decently enough to go through it.

It was time for the end game.

* * *

Risa hovered on the threshold of the next room. The final room. She must be getting the hang of this place because the location made a certain kind of sense. It was her lab, her home – only distorted just like everything else in this place had been so far. An eerie red light bathed everything in a ghoulish hue and glinted sharply off the equipment. The floor was littered with the remains of shattered glass vials and beakers. One workstation had been toppled over and still more had been pushed aside to clear space for a lidless chemical barrel in which a fire burned.

And, standing in front of it with his back to her, was the King.

She recognized who _his_ prototype was immediately. The hair. The shoulders. The way his black suit fit him perfectly. The fact that he'd eschewed the steampunk sensibilities of the rest of the characters to wear normal clothes.

"Kyo…" She stopped. That man wasn't her husband. He was the King of Hearts.

He didn't seem to hear her, anyway. Turning away from the fire, he walked over to one of the still upright workstations, and picked up a pile of papers before returning. Selecting the top sheet, he tossed it with an elegant flick of his fingers into the inferno, watching it flame brightly before burning down to ashes. When it had crumbled to nothing, he repeated the process with the next paper.

Risa circled around to the other side of the lab so she could see his face. Flames glinted off his glasses, hiding his eyes, but the rest of it was completely impassive. As implacable as granite.

_*flick*_

Another sheet flamed into nothingness. "Umm… Your Majesty," Risa called softly.

_*flick*_

"Your Majesty." The second time she was more insistent

_*flick*_

Okay, no dialogue section then. Maybe there was a clue to winning (or even starting) the boss battle somewhere else in the lab.

The work station next to her was nearly buried under stacks of paper that tottered precariously. She plucked one off the top of a random pile and scanned a half-written monthly status report for Lab 4. Rifling through the documents underneath she found more of the same – clinical trial data, preliminary investigation reports, even some of her research notes.

Rummaging through another heap uncovered different business documents related to Sakura – budgets, sales numbers, Board of Director meeting notes and the like. The next was full of shareholder reports for the Ootori Group and other investments her husband had and yet another mound held personal records like the floor-plans to their house, photographs, and even their marriage certificate.

Risa dropped the paper she was holding, letting it waft down to the floor. Was the King planning to destroy everything? Her work? Kyoya's dreams? All record of their life together? If she didn't stop him then, in the crazy logic of this world, would that mean there would be nothing left for her to go back to?

She jerked out of her reverie when the King suddenly moved, but it was only to grab another handful of papers. The calmly measured manner in which he was wreaking destruction was almost terrifying. Far worse than if he'd been ranting and raving. It held the same nonnegotiable relentlessness as a zombie horde mowing down everything in its path.

The King might not be Kyoya, but the resemblance between them was more than skin deep. It was too strong for her heart not to break a little. Both men experts at controlling their feelings to the point where people believed they didn't have them. Both seeming to grow cooler the stronger they felt. To someone who understood that, the King's emotionless expression was proof positive he was on the verge of breaking.

Whatever this man had gone through since he'd lost his Queen, it had nearly destroyed him.

She had to stop him, if only for his own sake, but how? If the King was mad because the Queen of Hearts was gone then, logically, her return should stop his cold-blooded rampage. The twins had implied that she was the Queen, or at least dressed her up like she was. But it didn't feel right. Besides, it couldn't be true - he didn't even notice her existence.

If she wasn't the Queen of Hearts, did that mean she was still Alice? If that was the case, what was the right strategy – perhaps use the dress to pretend to be the Queen? Or go off and look for her? Just what was Alice supposed to do?

Risa shook her head in despair. No answer came, no innate knowledge manifested to guide her. Maybe because she wasn't Alice either. She was just…

A light bulb went off.

' _Who are you?'_

The rabbit had asked it at the start, but she'd given the wrong answer. She wasn't Alice, and she certainly wasn't the Queen. She was just Risa. And if _she_ was Risa then maybe the man before her _wasn't_ the King.

The feeling of certainty snapping into place within her was so strong it might as well have made a 'click.'

In this bizarre interlude from rationality, she'd lost sight of the truth. She was Risa, badass scientist and future answer on a high school test exam, and he was the man she loved and had to get back to. Everything else was just some useless metaphor.

Without hesitating, she did the only thing she could and threw herself at him. When she landed against his chest, she was herself again – black plaid flannel pajama bottoms, 'Queen of the Lab' t-shirt, and all.

But Kyoya was still distraught, unable to recognize her presence. Throwing her arms around his neck, she clung to him fiercely and whispered in his ear, "It's okay, Kyo, I'm back. You can stop, now." Up close, she could feel that his air of detachment had been a lie. His breath hitched raggedly in her ear and his shoulders trembled beneath her hands. "Shhh…," she soothed, "Everything's fine now. I love you. It's all okay. You can rest."

She kept murmuring reassurances in his ear until, gradually, his breathing evened out and his shaking subsided. She only knew she had reached him when he returned her embrace - tentatively at first but then with more strength until he'd pulled her up against him as tight as he could.

Leaning her head back, she could see warmth and life returning to his beautiful, silver eyes. He lifted one hand and trailed the back of his fingers over her cheek. "Risa…" He breathed her name like it was a prayer. "Risa, _liebchen,_ I…"

And then she woke up.


	32. The End

Risa dragged her eyes open.

A second later, they fluttered closed. Leaden eyelids proved too heavy to fight, dragging her back towards oblivion. The next time, she tried harder – forcing them as wide as they could go. Once convinced she was safe, that she wouldn't fall back into the darkness, she allowed herself to blink until her surroundings resolved into something recognizable.

White walls. White acoustic ceiling tiles. The faint smell of antiseptic. It had to be a hospital room – even if the reclining leather seats, inoffensive artwork, and bamboo cabinets were more in keeping with a business-class hotel.

She felt… floaty. Pain ghosted around the edges of her consciousness without quite touching it. The IV catheter attached to her right arm was probably the cause. Some kind of painkiller – morphine? Or feta... phena... fenta… something. She couldn't concentrate enough to remember the names.

She never thought she'd say it, but she was getting tired of chemicals.

How did she get here? Everything before now seemed to be one big blur. If she struggled, she could just about recall woods… and darkness… a knife… hands around her neck… someone shouting and crashing through the underbrush… a light coming out of the sky…and then something to do with a rabbit?

OK. That definitely had to be the drugs.

Attempting to shake the fog out of her head caused her temple to throb. She lifted her hand to massage the ache away. Or tried to - it was too heavy. Like trying to lift a rock. Trailing her eyes down her right arm, she found her limb ended in a bright pink cast. The sight sparked memories of pain lancing through her wrist as it slammed against a tree. Her other hand felt equally immobilized. Strange, she couldn't recall anything happening to it. Twisting her head to the left revealed an unexpected cause - Kyoya, his hair rumpled and glasses off, was fast asleep and using the back of her hand as a pillow.

She drunk in the sight of him like a glass of water.

Carefully, so as not to wake him, she extracted her hand out from under his cheek and lightly smoothed his hair off his brow. "I knew you'd come for me," she whispered.

Whatever he'd been through since she last saw him had taken a toll. The suit jacket from his birthday party was hung haphazardly over the back of his chair, his shirt was rumpled and his tie was nowhere to be found. Glancing at the window, she could see dark behind the blinds. Still night or maybe early morning – how long had he been here? For Kyoya to have fallen asleep at her bedside like some Shoujo manga hero, he must be exhausted.

Not wanting to disturb him, she reluctantly moved her hand away. As soon as she stopped her caress, his head jerked up off the bed. Faster than a snake, his right hand grabbed her wrist preventing her withdrawal while his left fumbled for his glasses. Sliding them back on, he simply gazed at her without speaking. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the mask he'd donned the instant he woke up began to slip away. Relief turned his eyes from cool to warm, the fatigue which had lined his face even in sleep faded, and his lips formed one of the few unguarded smiles she'd ever seen on him.

It was a miracle her heart rate monitor didn't flatline.

"You're awake." He made it sound more an accomplishment than a fact.

"I am." She was too happy to make any snarky remark about his powers of observation. Not when she was showing a similar lack of wit. Quirking her head towards the darkened window, she asked, "How long was I out?"

"It's about four in the morning on Sunday." He adjusted his grip from her wrist to her hand and caressed his thumb back and forth over her knuckles.

Over twenty-four hours, at least. Risa was sure she'd escaped the cabin sometime before midnight. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"Of course." Kyoya dropped his gaze to their conjoined hands. She'd given him the perfect opening, but the words wouldn't come. He was still too new to this feeling, this love, to be comfortable expressing it. To open himself up to the vulnerability inherent in it.

And so he didn't say that he'd stayed because he was afraid of what would happen had he left. Or that he'd only allowed himself to sleep once they'd deemed her stable enough to remove the oxygen and some of the beeping machines. What he told her instead was, "The press caught wind of your abduction and are staking out the hospital. It would have caused unnecessary speculation if I left before you recovered."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Risa's lips pressed together as if to stop a smile and her eyes called him a liar even if her voice did not. Would not. The only prevarications she never challenged him on were the ones he made to protect himself. To maintain the illusion that he had no heart.

"I had the weirdest dream while I was asleep." She was changing the subject and he knew it was for his benefit. Or maybe it was just drugged rambling. "It was like Hika's game, only much, _much_ weirder. All the characters were mixed up with people I know. Honey was Usagi, Ryan was the Jack, and you were the King of Hearts, even though he isn't in the game at all."

Her brow knit together and he knew immediately what she would say next. She didn't disappoint. "Huh. Now that I think about it, the Queen's avatar does look an awful lot like you. Acts like you in your _Oni-kaicho_ mode too." Onyx eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Don't tell me he based the Queen on you? How is he not dead?"

Kyoya chuckled, unable to maintain his cool demeanor. Not only was she awake and alive, she was feeling well enough to tease him. It was enough to make him positively giddy. The part of him not sending up gratitude to the universe for her recovery was busy being thankful nobody else was here to see it.

"I try to avoid murdering my friends." He winked. "Although I _may_ have been the one who leaked photos of him dressed as Sailor Mars for Ageha's fifth birthday party to the press."

Risa burst out in laughter and immediately clutched at her side. "Ow. Ow. Ow…"

"Are you all right?" Kyoya reached across her, aiming for the call button built into the bed. If he were any other man, she would say he lunged. And that there was panic in his eyes. "I'll get the doctor."

"No, please. I'm fine." Risa wrenched her hand away from his and pressed against his shoulder. There was a strange intimacy surrounding them, like they existed in a bubble outside of time. A place that only belonged to the two of them. If someone else were to come in, his mask would slip back in place and the Kyoya before her would disappear. He hesitated, hovering above her, and she gave a reassuring smile. "Really. Just, don't make me laugh."

"Okay." He settled back in his chair, taking her hand with him, and laced his fingers through hers. "But I _will_ summon someone if I see any hint of pain."

"Tyrant." She stuck her tongue out and then stifled her giggle when he lifted one imperious eyebrow in response. She didn't want him to make good on his threat. "Anyways, none of that was the really bizarre part." She chose to move back to a more innocuous topic. "No, the strangest thing about my dream was that the final battle took place in my lab. You… I mean the King… were systematically throwing all my work in a fire. I have no idea where my subconscious came... up... with…"

Risa stopped. Kyoya's face was beginning to slip back into his normal imperturbable expression. Or trying to at any rate. Proof positive he was hiding something. She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know something about why I dreamt that, don't you? Come on, spill it!"

The more composed his face became, the squirrelier he seemed. When he pushed his glasses up to shield his eyes she knew she had him dead to rights. "I... might have said something while you were asleep about destroying your research if you didn't wake up."

"Why on earth would you do something like that?" She was dangerously close to shouting.

"Because, you said I could." Kyoya leaned forward to brush his fingers over her cheek and tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, totally disarming her anger. "You said I could lie to you if I thought it was important. If I thought it might be the only way."

"Oh." Her brain floundered around for anything more intelligent to say. When Kyoya's eyes went all gentle like that her reasoning turned to mush. "I… guess it must have worked, then."

"I guess it did." The smile he gave was tempered with warmth but it was smug all the same.

Risa decided to let him have his victory. He probably deserved to be a little full of himself. Not for threatening her unconscious form, of course, but for getting her here at all. As they talked, the haziness surrounding her memories had begun to clear including the parts right before she blacked out. The light from the sky and the shouting in the woods both pointed to a rescue team which only one person could have sent.

"How did you find me?" she asked, "I don't know where I was but it was kind of remote."

"It's a long story." He sighed. "The breakthrough came when some backpackers camping near the Kosuge River heard a woman screaming and reported it. They found your necklace and that narrowed down our search field."

"That must have been when I escaped from the trunk. Good. I'm glad to know all this…" She wiggled her arms to indicate her bandaged skin. "…Was worth it."

Kyoya's eye darkened and his face grew hard. "I'm sorry. They should never have been in a position to get to you."

"There you go again, thinking you should be omnipotent." She squeezed his hand. "You aren't a god, Kyo. And no one expects you to be – except maybe yourself."

Risa stared into eyes still heavy with self-recrimination. With guilt at not being able to control every variable. She reached out and cradled his cheek in her palm. "Nobody - not even you - can prevent all the bad stuff out there in the world from happening. The whole time they held me, I never once lost hope. And the reason I could fight, that I could even try to escape, was because I knew that you'd be struggling equally as hard to find me. It's enough for me to know that when the shit _does_ hit the fan, both of us will be doing our best to overcome it. Whatever it is."

The shadow haunting him didn't vanish at her words, but it eased enough for a wry smile. He covered her hand with his own and turned his head to press a kiss in her palm. "I admit, your best is rather magnificent. Incapacitating a man with a homemade taser? Impressive."

"Meh." She shrugged and dropped her hand back to her lap. "It was the best I could do at the time. Now, if I'd had a hot plate and a few hours I could have gone all Heisenberg on their asses."

Kyoya's shoulders relaxed and his eyes twinkled. "Perhaps I should summon the doctor, anyway. I think your medication is a bit strong."

"Seriously? How can you be married to me for five months and not recognize a Breaking Bad reference? I need to make you watch it with me sometime – there's a character in there every bit as calmly ruthless as you can be." She wrinkled her brow as thoughts of Gus triggered a logical question. "The men who kidnapped me… what happened to them?"

"The one who attacked you in the woods is dead, shot by the team who rescued you."

She thought about it for a minute, trying to dredge up any qualms over his fate and coming up empty. "I must not be a very good person because I don't think I'm upset about that. There was a second one..."

"We have the one you attempted to sterilize in custody." His face grew shuttered and he tugged her hand back towards him, enfolding it within both of his own. "Did he, did either of them, hurt you?"

Risa just about managed a derisive snort without causing any pain. "You mean aside from getting kidnapped, stuffed in a trunk, hit, knifed, and strangled?"

Kyoya's granite expression said he wasn't amused.

"No, not really," she reassured him. "The Hound… I mean the smaller guy didn't do anything to me at all. I think he might have after he got paid but, in his own way, he tried to protect me until then. Was that what they were after? Money?"

"Only to pay the hired thugs." Kyoya paused and she knew whatever he said next she wouldn't like. "The objective was your research."

Her heart slammed against the walls of her chest, making one of the machines she was hooked up to beep in warning. "Oh, god – you didn't give it to them, did you?"

"I had to. It was the only way to play for time." Kyoya deliberately kept his voice calm and made soothing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. "And I _did_ recover it."

"But still..." Her panic was refusing to die down. "What if they made copies? What if someone else has it right now?"

"They didn't. They don't." He channeled his certainty into a tone that allowed no disagreement. With one last assessing look at him, Risa began to calm. When she settled down, he smiled. "And even if they did, having you alive is far more valuable."

Even as he said it, Kyoya cursed himself for declaring how he felt in such a feeble manner. For only alluding to things instead of stating them openly.

"I suppose." He stifled a laugh at her disgruntled concession. "I mean, I still have a lot of ideas I haven't started work on yet and even if we lost our exclusivity on the more completed research, they probably couldn't develop it as well as I can."

That hadn't been what he meant.

Kyoya's heart warred silently with habits built over thirty years. With walls carefully built to hide his emotions that now refused to come down at his command. With instincts that fought any revelation of weakness.

"Who was it?" Her question broke into his quiet struggle.

"The _Federal'naya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti_ bankrolled the operation." He watched her closely, apprehensive over how she would receive the rest of his news. "I'm sorry if this is hard to hear, but the person who planned and executed it was your cousin, Kei."

Risa gasped and clutched at her chest. Kei? Kei had not only tried to steal from the company, he'd wanted her dead! They'd never gotten along but they had been family. At least, she'd always tried to think of him as such.

What hurt the most, though, was that she found it believable.

"I knew he was angry about losing the Presidency, but I didn't realize he.. that he _hated_ me that much."

He stroked her hair gently. Consolingly. "Greed and jealousy have made better men do worse things."

"What did you do to them?" She asked quietly. There wasn't a single doubt in her mind it was a matter of _what_ not _if._

That fact didn't disturb her as much as it should. There were things you couldn't let stand or the wolves would start circling you, seizing on your weakness, and they were usually the things that couldn't be resolved by following the rules. Her lack of remorse was probably another sign that she was a bad person. Or maybe it was just that she trusted her husband's retribution would at least be just, if not always merciful.

"We apprehended the underlings," Kyoya replied, retaking his seat now that she'd recovered from the shock. "They'll only receive jail time as long as they stick to the cover story we put out about this being a routine kidnapping for money. As for Kei…" He stiffened and she watched regret pass behind his eyes before he shuttered them. "He and his co-conspirator were both executed before we reached them. I suspect the Russians realized things were going south and hoped to prevent the trail leading back to them."

Without him telling her, she understood that regardless of Kei's crimes this was not the outcome Kyoya had wished for.

"And the FSB?" For all her cousin did wrong, she wouldn't have wished him dead. His murderers should pay.

Kyoya's pushed up his glasses. "I did nothing to them."

Risa blatantly rolled her eyes and scoffed.

Kyoya's pretense disappeared quickly in the face of her skepticism. His eyes lit up and the goblin grin she loved so much appeared. "The fact that the FSB is currently experiencing a minor coup due to potentially traitorous malfeasance is, I assure you, pure coincidence."

"Awww… you overthrew a government for me. That is so sweet!" Warmth bloomed in her chest and she could feel a sappy smile form on her face. "Is it any wonder that I love you?"

Risa froze. " _Scheisse!_ " she cursed under her breath, but not even German was strong enough to express how badly she'd screwed up. The words she'd never meant to say hung in the air like particles in an unstable colloid, just waiting to come crashing down around her. She risked a glance at Kyoya and found him as equally stunned. Raising her chin, she gave a wan smile. "I think you're right, the drugs _are_ making me loopy. Let's just forget I…"

The rest of the sentence refused to leave her mouth, choked off by a crushing sense of loss. As if something precious was slipping through her fingers. Had the events of the last day gone differently, she would have never seen him again. Would have gone to her grave without ever getting to tell him just how much she cared. Maybe the knowledge would be a burden to him, but there were things she just had to say. And maybe, she thought as a vision of the King of Hearts rose up in her mind, there were things Kyoya needed to hear.

Besides, didn't almost dying give her the right to be a little bit selfish?

"No. Don't forget it. As long as you can blame it on the drugs, I might as well say what I want." Summoning all her courage, she met his eyes. "I love you, Ootori Kyoya. I love everything about you. But, mostly, I think I love all the ways you lie. All the ways you pretend to be other than what you are.

"I love how you can move through a crowded ballroom acting like everyone's servant, never letting them realize you are the one controlling the board. How you can be so kind, so generous to people all the while professing that you are only doing it for your own benefit. And how you pretend to be heartless but would tear the world apart if it meant helping someone you cared about.

"From the day we met, you've been everything I thought you'd be and more – shrewd, calculating, inventive, absolutely ruthless - but also gentle, caring, thoughtful and far more unselfish than you give yourself credit for. Right now, before I lose my excuse and the world comes back, I just want to say thank you. Thank you so much for agreeing to marry me."

For the first time since her epiphany in Kyoto, Risa felt completely at peace. The weight of the secret she'd carried had lifted, leaving her almost buoyant.

Or maybe that was also the very, very strong painkillers she was on.

Her poor husband, however, looked overwhelmed. Maybe even stunned. Squeezing his hand, she chuckled sympathetically. "Sorry for that. I swear I don't want what I said to be a burden to you. Feel free to forget it. I promise not to say it ag…"

Kyoya bolted from his chair and shut her up with a kiss. He'd known… No. He'd concluded. He'd surmised. But hearing it said aloud unlocked something that had been buried so deep inside him he'd scarcely known of its existence. Filled with a desperate need to touch her, he couldn't stop his lips from slamming roughly against hers. She whimpered in the back of her throat and he immediately gentled his touch, fearful of hurting her.

He licked and nibbled every millimeter of her mouth and, when he'd exhausted that territory, he moved on to plant butterfly-light kisses over her cheeks and eyes and brow - interspersing them with softly murmured 'sorrys' for being unable to stop. Finally, when his need for her was eased but not sated, he drew back just far enough to meet her eyes. "I lied."

"What…" She looked so adorably bewildered he was compelled to place a kiss on the bridge of her wrinkled nose.

Sitting back down, he held Risa's hand with his left and ran the fingers of his right through her hair. He was fully aware that his lips weren't smiling, they were grinning. And rather goofily too. But the amazing thing was – he didn't care. "I lied about… well, about lying. What I said about destroying your research if you didn't wake up? I meant it. Every word."

"A… are you insane? Why would you…"

He shushed her, gently pressing two fingers to her lips. "You had your turn, this is mine." She quieted, but not before impishly kissing his fingertips. "I said it because… because I'd had my entire future mapped out, all of it charted, only to realize that the destination is immaterial if there's no one to share the journey with.

"I never considered love to be important, at least not for me. I knew it existed, or that people thought it did. I knew I could use it as a tool to manipulate. But to experience it? That was never something I planned on. _You_ were never something that I planned on…" He bent his head and ghosted his lips over the back of her hand.

When he looked up, hope was shining in Risa's eyes through a sheen of joyful tears. "I think, just this once, I need to hear you say the words properly."

Laughing, he cupped her face in his hands and drew in close. "Alright, just this once," he teased, "I love you Ootori Risa – every wonderful and maddening centimeter of you. Your passion. Your drive. That brilliant mind of yours. But, from the start, the one thing I couldn't fight against was how you looked at me and not my family. How you saw everything I was capable of and trusted me anyway."

Kyoya didn't know which of them closed the distance – the minute their lips touched it ceased to matter. Control shifted back and forth in a gentle give and take as each tried to convey feelings that couldn't be fully expressed in words. He lost himself in it for what felt like hours. Finally, he forced himself to break it, too mindful of her injuries to let it continue much longer or to deepen.

Leaning his forehead against hers, he wiped away the tears from her eyes with his thumb. "You realize," he drawled, "Now that I know you're my Achilles Heel I'm going to have to implant a tracking chip in you to prevent this from happening again."

Risa snorted. "Ouch!" She winced at the pain in her side and used her free hand to hit him on the shoulder. "I said not to make me laugh. And I'm not a puppy!"

"No, but you are prone to running away and getting lost."

"I'm still not going to let you put a tracking device in me."

He only smiled in response. "You will, because you love me and I'm not above using that." A shudder passed through him and he closed his eyes against the memory of fear. "I'm not good at this sort of thing, Risa. I'm not someone who can easily live with feeling helpless. Please, _liebchen,_ I can't go through all of that again."

"Damn it!" She laced her good hand around his neck and muttered. "You just don't play fair."

"I warned you from the start," he chuckled, "I'm absolutely ruthless when it comes to getting what I want."

Risa tipped her head back to look at him, laughter and love sparkling in her eyes. "And I told you, I wouldn't want you any other way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite the title, this isn't exactly the end. I have an epilogue planned but the main story is complete. Thank you to everyone who has managed to read this far - please R&R if you liked!


	33. Epilogue: The Decade Later

Risa stuffed the corner of her piece of toast between her teeth to free up her hands, grabbed her purse, cell phone, and coffee mug, and dashed for the door. Clinging to the coffee for dear life, she juggled the other items until she was able to place a hand on the door knob. Just as it was about to turn, she heard a voice behind her that sent ice cascading down her spine.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Pivoting on one foot, Risa turned to confront her accuser as he walked slowly down the stairs towards her – each methodical step portending her doom. "Work?" She managed to slide the word around the edges of the toast.

Kyoya paused in the act of buttoning up his shirt sleeves, pushed up his glasses, and leveled her with his most intimidating glare. "Not like that you aren't."

Reaching the entry way, he plucked the mug and purse from her hand, placed the latter on the entry console table, and strode back down the hallway towards the kitchen. Risa sighed - there was no point in trying to leave. He'd just call the driver back.

"Kyo, you're being unreasonable." She scurried down the hall after her spouse. "The data on the fetal safety of dietary caffeine consumption is conflicting and riddled with selection bias errors." Ignoring her perfectly rational argument, he poured the precious, precious liquid down the kitchen sink. One hand outreached as if she could save it, she let out a whimper. "One cup won't hurt."

He tossed a bemused look over his shoulder. "Don't whine. And we both know that with you it's never just one cup." Turning around, he imperiously pointed at the breakfast counter. "Sit!"

Risa was tempted to stick her tongue out at him, but the last time she'd done that he'd asked if he could consider it an invitation. " _jen ghopDu' HI'_ ," she grumbled as she took her seat.

" _HIja', 'ach reH mumuSHa''a' SoH_ ," he replied, wrapping a long waiter's apron around his waist and rolling up his shirt sleeves to mid-forearm.

"Oh, come on!" Risa yelped, "When did you learn Klingon?"

Even after ten years, the teasing light in his eyes still had the ability to stop her heart. "When I realized it was inevitably the next language you would call me a 'high-handed dictator' in."

After grabbing a bowl and skillet from one of the bottom cupboards, he opened the refrigerator, and removed a carton of eggs and containers full of already prepared ingredients. Setting the crumbled goat cheese, spinach, mushrooms, and bacon to one side, he deftly cracked two eggs and one egg white into a bowl and selected a small whisk from the utensil caddy.

"Well you _are_ a high-handed dictator." Risa sighed and propped her chin on one elbow and watched Kyoya assembling the ingredients for his signature breakfast omelet. "But, you're right, I do love you anyway."

He paused his whisking long enough to catch her eyes and lift one corner of his mouth in a gentle smile before returning to his task.

Lips twitching, Risa settled in to enjoy the sight of the sexiest man she knew making her breakfast. It was completely unfair - a man six months shy of thirty-nine had no right to look that good in a dress shirt and waiter's apron. It was like a secret weapon that turned her brain to mush and got her to agree to almost anything.

Marriage, her Aunt Mary had told her on their wedding day, was a series of compromises. Mutual concession was the grit that helped rub away two people's rough edges as they tumbled against each other.

Aunt Mary held a Master's Degree in Geology. She was always comparing everything to rocks.

Risa knew she wasn't the easiest person to be married to but, to be fair, neither was Kyoya. She had zero domestic inclinations and a tendency to lose herself so deep in solving a problem or pursuing a fascinating line of investigation that everything else ceased to exist.

Kyoya had adapted.

He'd co-opted most of her minions to make sure she ate at regular intervals and told the security team to cut off her computer and lab access if she didn't come home for at least a couple hours to sleep and shower. But, when those moods took her, he also cleared both her work and social calendar so she could focus. He said he only did it because every time she came out of one of her fugues it was with something that would make him a great deal of money.

She still loved all the ways he lied.

Yes, he was a bully. And a tyrant. And well-deserving of his 'Demon Chairman' reputation. But, when he was at his most despotic, it was usually because he was just trying to take care of her and she, for her part, had learned to put up with it – when he wasn't being unreasonable, of course. Because that's what _he_ needed from _her._

Kyoya, in many ways, resembled a mountain – cool and stable on the outside but boiling with molten heat down underneath. And sometimes the intensity of that fire, of his emotions, overwhelmed him. Times when Risa, like a not-so-virgin sacrifice, had to launch herself into the volcano to save the villagers from destruction.

She'd never forgotten the night she realized that.

* * *

" _I still think you should have let me get her the chemistry set." Risa emerged from the bathroom, rubbing her arms together to spread in the moisturizer she'd just put on. "I found a great one with over three hundred experiments."_

"Liebchen _," Kyoya drawled without looking up from the dry-as-dust economics book he was reading, "Please don't teach my god-daughter how to make things explode until she's at least in pre-school."_

_He was stretched out on top of the midnight-blue duvet with his torso half propped up against headboard and a pile of pillows insulating him from the cherry wood and metal railings. The soft light of the reading lamp gave a faint gleam to the deceptively simple cotton t-shirt and gray silk pajama bottoms he wore - name brand and each worth over ten-thousand yen, of course._

" _Spoil sport." Risa sat on the edge of the bed next to him and worked a dollop of cream all around her neck and shoulders, making sure to get the skin along and under the collar of the red, silk robe he'd given her for Valentine's Day. "It would be so much more practical than that ostentatious, hand-made, pink and gold high chair with 'an built-in custom playlist of classical music hand selected by child development experts and hidden surround sound speakers to enrich the meal time experience.' "_

" _It made Tamaki happy." His lips twisted in a grimace. "He waxed rhapsodical about it for at least an hour."_

" _I can't believe he's still sulking about us missing the birth. How were we supposed to know that Aki would come two weeks early?"_

_To celebrate her return to moderate activity, Kyoya had taken her on a week long trip to Spain around the New Year_ _. The time difference meant they'd only heard of the birth three hours after it occurred. Without Kyoya there, Mori had been enlisted to tamp down on the exuberant father-to-be and prevent homicide at the hands of an annoyed and in pain Haruhi._

_Tamaki was still pouting about the fact that his best friend hadn't been the first to congratulate him._

" _Apparently,_ I _should have. I do have my omniscient reputation to uphold." Using a finger to mark his place, Kyoya shut the book and leaned forward to nuzzle her shoulder. "Mmm… that smells nice."_

_Trailing the backs of his fingertips along the nape of her neck, he inhaled deeply and the soft caress of breath sent shivers down her spine. Flames of desire, barely banked after over three long months of celibacy, flared to life. Risa turned her head into the invitation just in time for Kyoya to drop his hand and fall back against the headboard._

_Disappointment curdled her stomach, but she couldn't say she was surprised. Since his confession by her hospital bed, Kyoya had barely kissed her even as he had showered her with attention and an absurd number of presents. She didn't want any of them – she just wanted her husband back._

_Ok. Maybe she'd keep the signed first edition of the_ _Island of Doctor Moreau_ _he'd given her for Christmas. But other than that…_

_Straightening her shoulders, Risa hardened her resolve. She'd had a very,_ very _long conversation with Pooja last weekend. Psychology was a bullshit science, but that didn't mean the Indian behavioral scientist didn't have a point. Sometimes._

" _Kyo, look at me," Risa commanded, standing up to face him. When he raised his eyes off the text in his hands, she unbelted her robe and slipped it slowly off her shoulders. "The doctor cleared me to return to normal activities a month ago. Gave me a full bill of health." The robe slithered down her body to the floor, leaving her clad in only the matching lace underwear._

_Kyoya's eyes darted to the thin scar running along her left side and her heart dropped. What if the hypothesis was wrong? What if he hadn't touched her not from fear but from disgust?_

_Her courage ebbed and she almost reached down to grab her robe. Then she saw it – the flicker of his eyes down her legs, the bob of his Adam's apple as he forced a dry swallow. Warmth burst from her chest, flooding her from hairline right down to the tips of her toes.  
_

_Placing a hand on his shoulder, she pulled the book out of unresisting hands and set it aside. "Risa, it's late," he protested, eyes fixated in the vicinity of her bra, "We have a busy day tomorrow."_

_She ignored him, climbing into the bed and straddling his legs. "We have time." When he lifted his hand to push up his glasses, she quickly plucked them off before he could use them to hide._

_His hands switched directions, coming to rest on her hips. Fingers dug into her skin a little too deeply and he swallowed again. "I… I just…" When he raised his head to meet hers, the raw vulnerability in his eyes gripped her heart like a vise. "What if I hurt you?"_

_Understanding bloomed. The barricade he used to keep his emotions shielded had, this time, become a grave. While she had slowly been healing, physically and mentally, he had buried all the pain and fear of that horrible weekend so deep that he wasn't able to handle the specter of their return. Still wasn't able to forgive himself for not preventing her injuries.  
_

_He needed help. Needed someone to direct his suffering away from fear and self-recrimination. Needed_ her.

_She brushed her fingers along his forehead, sweeping his hair to one side. Bracing herself on his shoulder with her other hand, she leaned in close and pressed her lips against his as softly and gently as she could. When she darted her tongue against his closed mouth, the tattered groan he emitted as he opened to let her in almost sounded like a whimper._

_Running her hands down his arms, she interlaced her fingers with his as she tempted his tongue into a mating dance. Satisfied that his body at least was yielding to her entreaty, she gripped his hands tightly and pulled them up to the rail running along the top of the headboard._

" _If you're worried about hurting me," she whispered, breaking the kiss, "Then don't move."_

_Raising herself up, she settled her hips over his, delighting in the shudder that passed through him and the growing evidence of his desire. She reached behind her to unclasp her bra and gave a smile worthy of Eve. "Lay back, Kyo. Let me show you just how unbreakable I really am."_

* * *

The clunk of a plate being placed down in front of her broke Risa's reverie.

"Here, eat." Kyoya softened his order with a kiss to her forehead.

This time, when he turned his back to her to drop the used cookware in the sink for the housekeeper to clean, Risa _did_ stick her tongue out at him.

Plunging her fork into the fluffy bit of yumminess before her, Risa made happy little 'mmm' sounds in the back of her throat.

"Don't forget," Kyoya nagged, removing his apron and buttoning up his shirt. "You need to be dressed and ready to go by six p.m. sharp tonight."

" _Jawohl, Mein Kommandant!_ " She rolled his eyes at his glare. "I have my dress, makeup, and everything else I need in my locker at work. Not even _I_ would be late for your big day."

He didn't look like he believed that for one second but refrained from snarking. Marriage was, after all, a series of compromises.

"You didn't have to go to the trouble of making me breakfast." Changing the subject, she shoveled another bite into her mouth. "Toast was fine for the ride in – you know Nakamura brings me muffins every morning like some aging, radical hippy, mother hen."

"You are free to indulge in sugar and caffeine to your heart's content later, but when you are carrying my heir I want you to eat properly."

"It's too soon to know the baby's gender," she teased, "At least, not without that experimental genetic testing you won't let me do. What if this heir you keep going on about is a girl?"

He smirked and raised one eyebrow at her. "Why should that matter? If it's _our_ daughter, then I have no doubt she'll surpass us both."

"And if she wants to spend her life painting on a beach somewhere?"

Kyoya shrugged. "She can do as she wants, as long as she can make a living off it." An unwelcome thought flitted across his mind and his face formed a scowl. "Just as long as she doesn't marry one of Tamaki's idiot sons."

* * *

Risa looked out the window in confusion as the car rolled to a stop. "I thought your father was holding the announcement at the new Suoh hotel?"

"He is. But I wanted to make a detour first." Exiting the limo, Kyoya came around to assist her out of her side while the driver held her door.

"We aren't going to be late, are we?" Panic flitted across her face. "He gets really, _really_ sarcastic when someone's late."

"That's because an Ootori is never late." Taking her hand, he helped her to her feet. "But, in this case, he can put up with it."

Risa tilted her head and gazed up at the Eiffel-esque, orange-and-white structure looming over them. "You know, I don't think I've ever actually been here," she remarked, "It's funny how when you live in a city, you never go to any of the tourist attractions."

Tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow, Kyoya escorted her to the left of a line of people waiting to purchase tickets. A balding man in a black suit hovered by the ticket booth and sprang to life when he saw them approach. Bowing low, he offered the type of servile greeting Risa had become accustomed to whenever the Ootori name was dropped.

The man unhooked a barrier rope and ushered them past a group of people waiting for the elevator. Even though the doors were wide open, uniformed employees were preventing anyone from entering before the newly arrived trio. And, once Kyoya and Risa were inside, the employees continued to hold back the throng.

Waiting for the doors to close, Risa felt heat rise up the back of her neck at the stares and pointed fingers. Flashes of light illuminated the twilight as some took pictures on the off chance the VIPs were someone famous. "You didn't do something pompous like rent out the whole tower, did you?" she whispered furiously to the smug bastard next to her. In German so the other occupant wouldn't understand.

"Sadly, my wife's renown makes it difficult to mingle with the common folk. I don't want to be swarmed by your fans."

"That only happened once!" she protested, "And we were at MIT Tech Reunions. Besides," she beamed up at him, her mood too good to be ruined by something this trivial, "After tonight _you_ are the one of us who'll be more recognizable Mr. Youngest-Chairman-in-the-History-of-the-Ootori-Group."

Kyoya didn't need to say a word; his self-satisfied smile said it for him.

At the top, the doors opened up on an observation deck crammed to the fire code limit with dating couples and tourists. The pleasantly surprised smile that formed on Risa's lips vanished when their guide directed them to a second elevator - this one blocked off with a sign proclaiming that the popular upper observation deck was 'Closed for Private Event."

On the ride up she called her husband 'pretentious' in sixteen languages.

When these elevator doors opened, it was onto a circular, dimly lit deck hovering above the Tokyo skyline. The man with them murmured that they could stay as long as they wished and to simply descend to the lower observation deck when ready to depart. With that, he gestured for them to exit the elevator and closed the doors behind them, leaving them alone.

Drawn to the view, Risa walked forward until she reached the full-lenght windows and could look down on the city below. The sun was just beginning to set, washing Tokyo in a warm, rosy hue. Far beneath her feet, buildings and streetlights were starting to light up like little twinkly jewels.

She felt, more than heard, her husband come up behind her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her back against his warmth and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"It's beautiful up here." Risa reached her hand up to caress Kyoya's hair. "Although I half-expected you to get us to the party early so you could have more time to gloat at your brothers."

"Today of all days we had to come here first." Kyoya chuckled, his breath feathering across her ear. "Tsk. Don't tell me you forgot about it? But, I suppose that's what I should have expected from a woman who can't remember her own wedding anniversary."

"Not fair, I always remember the _actual_ one." She began tracing the curve of his ear with her finger, knowing it drove him wild. "Who cares about the day we held the wedding ceremony?"

"Stop that." He nipped at her neck and she ceased teasing his ear. For now.

"Remember, _Liebchen?"_ Kyoya whispered against her hair. "Almost ten years ago today I met an insipid little debutante who transformed into a siren right before my eyes. She asked me a question which changed my life - ' _Don't you ever want to see what you could do, what you'd be capable of if given the chance?_ '…"

"…' _I don't want to stay safe on the ground_ ,'" Risa continued, memory of their _Omiai_ flooding back in a rush, " _I want to climb to the top of the Tokyo Tower and jump off to prove to everybody that I can fly_."

From the highest vantage point on the Tokyo Tower, Risa smiled at the city sprawled out before them. Lifting her arm, she wrapped it around Kyoya's head and hugged him tight. "And you did. You proved it to them all."

" _We_ did." He pulled her closer. "Last year, we brought the first of many viral genetic treatments to market. Tonight, my father officially announces his retirement and names me as his successor. It seemed apropos the two of us come here to celebrate."

"Careful," she chuckled, squeezing him tighter before releasing her grip. "If anyone finds out about your sentimental streak your business reputation will be ruined."

"Not in the least. They'll come to realize that even the most ruthless _Oni-kaicho_ still loves his wife." Risa gave a happy little sound and snuggled back against him.

For a minute, they stood there quietly observing the beauty of the twilit sky. Taking a minute to rest. To enjoy their success before the struggle to keep it would begin all over again.

Kyoya broke the silence first. With his thumb and forefinger, he tilted her chin until their eyes met. "I _am_ sorry that the board insisted on dropping your grandmother off the company name as a condition of the merger."

"I know. You did your best, but it can't be helped." Turning back around, she resolutely looked out at at the sunset to keep her disappointment at bay. "I even understand why they demanded it. Ootori-Sakura… I mean _Ootori_ Pharmaceuticals is going to become the anchor of the Ootori Group's empire. They didn't want to dilute the brand."

"I do have a counter-proposal that I hope will make it up to you." With gentle hands he caressed the bump still small enough to be hidden beneath the folds of her dress. "Sakura." He paused, letting it sink in. "It works equally well for a boy or a girl."

Her startled gasp turned into a laugh and Risa turned in his arms. His eyes gleamed in an expression she knew so well – the one that said that even though someone thought they had gotten the better of him, he'd arranged things to be exactly as he wanted.

"You," she said as her smile grew wide enough to hurt her cheeks, "Are the best pompous, high-handed, dictator _ever_."

* * *

About six months later, Ootori Sakura, at 2.73 kg, squalled her way into the world. Black hair, onyx eyes, with her mother's genius, her father's competence, and both her parents passionate nature, she would go on to surpass them both.

But first, even though she swore it was impossible – he was too flashy, too impulsive, and a complete and utter _moron_ – she suddenly and unexpectedly fell in love with and married the youngest of Tamaki's idiot sons.

On her wedding day, when not even her legendary composure could quite overcome her apprehension, when she paced the length of the dressing room fretting that this was a mistake, that it was went against every part of the meticulously detailed plan she had for her life - her father stopped her in her tracks, smoothed back the veil from her face, placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled with more love in his eyes than any of the many competitors and enemies he'd left strewn in his wake would have thought possible.

"Calm down, _Mäuschen_ _,_ Everything is going to be fine," he reassured her, "Just remember what I've always taught you – the best things of your life, the things that will bring you the greatest happiness, are always things that were never a part of your plan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now it really is the end. I hope I tied up all the lose ends I left dangling as well as put in my own fan-theory of why Mori was the first to congratulate Haruhi and Tamaki on the birth of their child. Thank you for reading this far and, if you enjoyed it, please leave a kudo or comment.
> 
> I am planning another story soon, Host TBD. It will either be MoriXOC set in high school around summer/autumn (working title: Pride, Prejudice, and Porcupines) or Hikaru XOC set in the same head-canon as this story featuring an adult Hikaru (working title: It's Not Easy Being Hikaru). If you have a preference, let me know as both are in about equal states with regard to story boarding progress.


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